5 Steps Needed to Start Rebuilding the San Francisco 49ers
By Peter Panacy
A Smart Game Plan in 2017 Free Agency and the NFL Draft
A new general manager would bring different ideas and a change in methodology to what the 49ers will do this offseason.
And it will be an important one. San Francisco is on pace, per Over the Cap, to have $45,575,666 in cap space next season. Tack on, potentially, the $39,644,360 in cap space from this year — which can be applied to next year’s cap, and the Niners won’t have any financial shortcomings.
This doesn’t mean a new GM should splurge. While wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, a free agent to be, would be a great target, the 49ers should focus the majority of their efforts on blue-chip players and various positional upgrades across the board. Not the big-ticket free agents often landed on day one and for exorbitant costs.
Then there’s the NFL Draft.
Draft strategies are all over the place and can go in any different direction. Pick a position and, chances are, San Francisco needs an upgrade there.
So it’s time to prioritize those positions. All of them, like this:
- Quarterback
- Edge rusher
- Wide receiver
- Inside linebacker
- Offensive line
- Tight end
- Safety
- Defensive line
- Cornerback
- Special teams
Flip a few of these positions if you wish, but just match the value for the Round and pick number.
This means scouting, need and value — elements in which the Niners have faltered in recent years. And if a player is coming off a collegiate ACL tear? He’s worth nothing more than a seventh-round pick. If that.
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And to keep those players moving in the same direction? Well, that’s tough. If head coach Chip Kelly skips town to go back to the college ranks, this will be harder to do. Inconsistency at the coaching level is a tough thing to overcome for young players.
Just ask former Niners quarterback Alex Smith.
Next: Short, Medium and Long-Term Goals for the 49ers
So find some consistency there too. And the 49ers front office can think over the course of two- or three-plus years. Not with the one-and-done-type experiments as was seen with the hiring and firing with former head coach Jim Tomsula.
These are just thoughts towards steps to fix this franchise. Clearly, the 49ers need some new thoughts.