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5 Realistic Goals for the San Francisco 49ers in 2016

By Peter Panacy

Oct 18, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers strong safety Antoine Bethea (41) celebrates after making a tackle for a loss against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Ravens 25-20. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 18, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers strong safety Antoine Bethea (41) celebrates after making a tackle for a loss against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Ravens 25-20. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 8, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert (2) and quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) warm up before the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 8, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert (2) and quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) warm up before the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 4: Objectively Identify Needs for 2017

No team is perfect. Each NFL franchise has its weaknesses, but the good teams either make up for shortcomings elsewhere or are good enough to get by more often than not.

Unfortunately for San Francisco, there are plenty of areas for concern. How will the quarterback situation pan out this season? Will the offensive line improve from last year? Will the 49ers’ lack of playmakers at wide receiver come back to haunt the offense?

Sep 14, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 14, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

2016 will provide clear-cut answers to many of these questions and more.

Head coach Chip Kelly should improve the offense. But that doesn’t mean this group will be a top-10 unit.

After identifying the cornerstone players, San Francisco’s brass should plan on a full evaluation for each area of need, prioritize them and come up with a solution to address such as much as possible.

Perhaps this takes place via the 2017 NFL Draft. Draft needs can be pretty well established. Or, maybe, the Niners elect to go the free-agent route. They should have a ton of cap space available next season, according to Over the Cap.

Hopefully, by this point next year, the 49ers have identified what type of team they want to be. Will it be a run-first franchise? Should the defense shoulder the burden of keeping the Niners in games?

We’ll touch on the identity and scheme here shortly, but prioritizing and addressing needs following this year will be critical for San Francisco’s future efforts.

Next: Establish an Identity