Projecting San Francisco 49ers' Most Heated Roster Battles This Offseason
The San Francisco 49ers offense seemed in flux when the offseason began.
The defense seemed stable. It was very good last season, ranking fifth in points allowed. It didn’t need fixing. But the offense did. It ranked 20th in points scored.
But the Niners didn't overhaul their offense this offseason. They signed one new starter—wide receiver Torrey Smith. That’s it.
Entering minicamp and OTAs, only one position on offense is up for grabs—left guard. The other 10 positions have starters in place.
What's in flux is the defense, which lacks a clear-cut starter at five positions.
Go figure.
Here are the 49ers’ six most heated roster battles this offseason.
6. Left Guard
1 of 6
Projected winner: Brandon Thomas
Before the draft, a reporter asked 49ers general manager Trent Baalke if Mike Iupati’s departure creates an opening in the starting lineup for Brandon Thomas, a 2014 third-round pick who missed his rookie season with a torn ACL.
“He was drafted for this in mind,” Baalke replied. “It’s obvious why we drafted him. We were able to get him where we were because he was injured. We knew going into it it was going to be a redshirt year for him. He looks very good at this point. He’s coming off the knee injury very well. He’s strong. He’s moving extremely well.”
In other words, yes. Thomas probably will replace Iupati at left guard.
Thomas’ only competition for the job is 32-year-old Erik Pears, who played right guard for the Buffalo Bills in 2014. According to Pro Football Focus, Pears was one of the three worst starting guards in the NFL last season.
The Niners have a problem if Thomas can't beat out Pears.
5. Left Cornerback
2 of 6
Projected winner: Shareece Wright
Someone has to win this competition, and it might as well be former San Diego Chargers cornerback Shareece Wright.
He hasn’t played particularly well during his four-year career, but his biggest competition for the Niners' left cornerback job is 2014 fourth-round pick Dontae Johnson. Johnson gave up a flabby 106.3 passer rating last season, per Pro Football Focus. He isn’t much competition.
The Niners gave Wright a one-year, $2.95 million deal this offseason, making him the second-highest-paid corner on the team. He probably will be the No. 2 cornerback unless something unexpected happens.
Before the draft, a reporter asked Baalke what he sees in Wright, who last season gave up a passer rating of 95.5, per Pro Football Focus.
Here’s what Baalke said: “If you think back to four years ago when we signed Carlos Rogers, a lot of the same stuff was said about (him). That ended up playing out pretty well for us. Feel very good about Shareece as a player.”
Baalke has a point. In 2010, Rogers gave up a passer rating of 95.2 on a bad Washington Redskins defense. In 2011, his first season with the Niners, Rogers allowed a passer rating of just 65.1.
Rogers flourished once he played alongside better players. Maybe the 49ers will have the same effect on Wright.
4. Left Defensive End
3 of 6
Projected winner: Arik Armstead
If Vic Fangio still were the 49ers’ defensive coordinator, he probably wouldn’t start first-round pick Arik Armstead as a rookie. He'd probably start Quinton Dial, a veteran, instead.
Fangio prefers veterans. They know the scheme, the terminology and their assignments. They’re dependable.
And Fangio has the clout to start whomever he wants. He is one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL, and if he says the first-round pick isn’t ready to start, the front office has to live with his decision.
But Fangio is with the Chicago Bears now. And the Niners’ new defensive coordinator is Eric Mangini, who doesn’t have clout.
Mangini was out of the league in 2011 and 2012. In 2013, the 49ers made him their senior offensive consultant. Last season, they promoted him to tight ends coach. And they promoted him again this offseason. They revived his career. Mangini is indebted to the 49ers.
If Trent Baalke tells Mangini to start Arik Armstead, what’s Mangini going to say? No?
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
3. Right Defensive Tackle
4 of 6
Projected winner: Glenn Dorsey
The 49ers build around a strong run defense. It’s essential to their success.
A strong run defense forces the opposing offense to pass an inordinate amount of times. Every incompletion stops the clock, which gives the Niners the edge in time of possession.
A strong run defense also creates obvious passing situations like 3rd-and-long. It’s much easier to stop a pass when the defense knows it’s coming.
So whoever wins the right defensive tackle job probably will be a good run defender.
The Niners' previous right defensive tackle, Justin Smith, was an excellent run defender. He probably will retire.
Darnell Dockett, whom the 49ers signed this offseason, is not a good run defender. He’s a gap-shooting interior pass-rusher.
And so is Tank Carradine.
But Glenn Dorsey is an outstanding run-stopper. He probably is the best option to play right defensive end in the 49ers’ base defense. In the sub-packages during passing downs, the 49ers can replace Dorsey with Dockett or Carradine.
2. Left Inside Linebacker
5 of 6
Projected winner: Philip Wheeler
Despite playing only 384 snaps last season, Philip Wheeler earned a plus-7.2 run-defense grade from Pro Football Focus—the 23rd-best run-defense grade among all linebackers.
The Niners signed him this offseason to compete with Michael Wilhoite to be the starting left inside linebacker—Patrick Willis’ old job. Wilhoite started 16 games for the Niners last season and earned a minus-6.5 run-defense grade from Pro Football Focus.
Inside linebacker isn’t Wilhoite's natural position—he played safety in college. He’s more comfortable defending the pass than the run.
If the Niners want their best run defenders in the base defense, Wheeler will start over Wilhoite. Wilhoite can come off the bench and replace Wheeler in the sub-packages.
1. Left Outside Linebacker
6 of 6
Projected winner: Aaron Lynch
Aaron Lynch probably will start the offseason behind Ahmad Brooks on the depth chart.
Brooks is the veteran, he’s a good run defender and he’s scheduled to earn $7.05 million next season. The Niners are invested in him, much more so than Aaron Lynch, who is scheduled to earn just $510,000 in 2015.
For Lynch to take Brooks’ job, he has to prove he’s the far superior player.
And I think that’s exactly what he’ll do. Lynch is future star in the league. As a 21-year old rookie last season, he racked up five sacks in a six-game span. And he wasn’t even a starter. Brooks was.
Lynch might already be a premier pass-rusher. Once he officially wins the starting job in 2015, the Niners can trade Brooks. Any number of teams should be interested in him.
All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Advanced stats courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
