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San Francisco 49ers: Offensive Woes Trace Back to General Manager Trent Baalke

By Peter Panacy

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San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke hasn’t put his offense into a position to win. Three weeks into the 2016 NFL season, the Niners are paying the price for Baalke not addressing much-needed skill-position players.

San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke should be on the hot seat.

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    • One might argue Baalke inherited a fairly stacked roster when he took over as GM in 2011. And one might argue former 49ers GM Scot McCloughan was primarily responsible for assembling the Niners’ roster that went on to appear in three consecutive NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl.

    But the 49ers aren’t anywhere near that level of talent right now. And while there are some pieces in place, the lack of attention Baalke has given to skill positions is devastating San Francisco’s chances.

    All of this has been evident over the first three weeks of 2016. The only skill-position player who has provided any impact has been running back Carlos Hyde.

    Anyone else? No.

    Hyde was the last skill player drafted before Round 4, dating back to 2014. And while we should commend Baalke for addressing the trenches in this year’s draft, waiting until Round 6 (QB Jeff Driskel) to draft a skill player for a last-ranked NFL offense doesn’t quite make sense.

    Driskel is no longer with the team, if you happened to forget.

    A History of Failed Efforts

    NFL Drafts are tough things to master. We get this. First-round players can become busts just as easy as seventh-round players become NFL-worthy starters.

    April 27, 2012; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh and first round draft pick wide receiver A.J. Jenkins and general manager Trent Baalke pose for a photo at the 49ers headquarters. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
    April 27, 2012; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh and first round draft pick wide receiver A.J. Jenkins and general manager Trent Baalke pose for a photo at the 49ers headquarters. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

    Offensive tackle Trent Brown (Round 7) is looking like one of Baalke’s better picks.

    But think of some of the other skill players Baalke has tabbed recently:

    • QB Jeff Driskel (now with Cincinnati)
    • RB Kelvin Taylor (practice squad)
    • WR Aaron Burbridge (special teams/depth)
    • TE Blake Bell (special teams/depth)
    • WR DeAndre Smelter (injured reserve)
    • WR Bruce Ellington (injured reserve)
    • RB Carlos Hyde (No. 1 running back)

    Yes, San Francisco’s offense is heading directly towards another bottom-five ranking this season.

    Just take a look at what Steve Berman of Bay Area Sports Guy wrote following the Niners’ 37-18 Week 3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks:

    "Talent, eventually, wins out. The Seahawks have stars on both sides of the ball, players taken in nearly every round of the draft who consistently win their matchups more often than not. The 49ers don’t have stars. They employ a roster that looks frustratingly similar to the mediocre group Baalke put together a year ago, a roster that looks worse with more exposure and will likely require years of patience to bear fruit."

    Even the defense, the one unit which was supposed to be a position of strength in 2016, looks more than permeable.

    And that $43,879,302 in 2016 cap space — second most in the NFL — sure looks silly just sitting there.

    Not a good look for a general manager trying to rebuild this franchise.

    What Now?

    San Francisco’s promotion of Tom Gamble to assistant general manager could be seen as the proverbial “writing on the wall.”

    January 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Chip Kelly (left) and San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke (right) address the media in a press conference after naming Kelly as the new head coach for the 49ers at Levi's Stadium Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
    January 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Chip Kelly (left) and San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke (right) address the media in a press conference after naming Kelly as the new head coach for the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

    Maybe CEO Jed York and the front office simply realized Baalke needs help. Some of this help needed ushered in the Chip Kelly era. And with York stating, via Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, Kelly would be here for a “long time,” one is left to believe Baalke will be the next one to be shown the door.

    The reality is that the 49ers’ current situation is the one in which York and Baalke have created — York by default since, well, he’s at the top of it all.

    But Baalke makes the roster decisions. Not York. Not Kelly. Baalke. Just ask Niners Nation’s Pat O’Holloway:

    "Before bringing up Chip Kelly’s scheme as a counterpoint, all that needs to be said is this: he scores points. Yes, in Philadelphia, and with better players. So far the talent pool in San Francisco is much more lacking, but that’s not Chip Kelly’s fault, that’s Trent Baalke’s fault for handing him this. This is a team that he himself built, that has one quarterback who can’t throw it past 5 yards and another Baalke seemingly doesn’t want getting hurt because of the injury clause in that quarterback’s contract."

    And so here we are — a 49ers team with a few pieces in place, yet largely devoid of talent.

    Baalke may be the kind of GM capable of helping a team revamp its offensive and defensive lines. He loves his defensive backs too. So a franchise looking for help there might be happy to have Baalke’s services.

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    Who knows if York pulls the plug on Baalke this offseason. If he stays, and subsequently drafts another member for the secondary in Round 1 or 2 and waits until the later rounds to take a skill player, fans will be screaming bloody murder.

    But Baalke is probably closer to getting the axe. Unless York is content with another abysmal 49ers season.

    Next: 49ers vs. Seahawks: The Once Great Rivalry

    All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of ESPN.com, Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.