5 Under-the-Radar Free Agents 49ers Should Target in 2016
By Jerod Brown
The San Francisco 49ers will have an abundance of cap space to manipulate in 2016. While some players remain from the last regime, new players are on their way in. There are numerous lesser-known free agents that the 49ers should target for next season.
New San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly has given his introductory press conference and the dust of the hire has settled. We are now into the time of year when the front office looks at draft boards and free agent charts to determine who to target in April and beyond to build the best roster moving forward.
The current front office doesn’t get involved in bidding wars for players. They typically set a price on any given player and hold firm. The shrewd tactic has proven useful in routinely balancing the salary cap of the team.
This year, however, the 49ers are expected to have over $53 million in cap space per OverTheCap.com and can use that money to target the high-priced free agents that they usually avoid.
While players like Chicago Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and the New York Jets defensive tackle Muhammad Wilkerson will be available, the 49ers could put their money to better use by targeting slightly lesser-known free agents to build a more complete team.
As teams look to sign free agents, it’s important to balance the impact of a player against the cost of bringing them in. General manager Trent Baalke and his team may benefit from signing one of the available star players but there is always a fair amount of risk involved.
One player’s impressive success in their current scheme does not guarantee success in another.
Signing big-name players is certainly the type of sexy move that will gain Baalke popularity among fans again.
However, if doing the best possible job to ensure that this team competes in the playoffs sooner rather than later is his task, here are five under-the-radar players that the 49ers should target for 2016.
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