The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the most active NFL teams in free agency this offseason. But there’s a method to general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan’s madness — to sign players familiar with the coach’s scheme and to teach it to the rest of the roster and future players.
Those unfamiliar with the San Francisco 49ers and what needs to take place in Santa Clara might look at general manager John Lynch’s recent actions in NFL free agency as a wild splurge on the market.
Day one of free agency is in the books, and the Niners added a total of 10 players — including three in the days leading up to March 9 — without having to totally break the bank.
Not like San Francisco had to worry about cap space anyway.
San Francisco 49ers
Looking at the names, especially on offense, the moves make perfect sense. Only a handful of the 49ers’ free-agent acquisitions might make Pro Bowl-caliber impacts. But that’s not the point.
The point is to relay head coach Kyle Shanahan’s system and, to a lesser extent, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s scheme to the rest of the roster, both incumbent and pending.
Before we get into the names, let’s understand Shanahan’s offense is complex. Just look at what SB Nation’s Jenna Thomas wrote about the now-49ers head coach:
"Shanahan is a good fit to turn the 49ers offense around, though the improvement may not be immediate. His scheme is complex. Matt Ryan did settle in and turned in an MVP-caliber performance after an additional year to learn the system, but it took time to adjust. The 49ers actually have a longer road to offensive improvement than Atlanta did. San Francisco finished last season ranked No. 31 in the league for total offense. In Atlanta, Shanahan inherited Ryan and Julio Jones, as well as Devonta Freeman, who wasn’t yet a household name but certainly had the potential to be. Shanahan will need to build an offensive line that is capable of executing his zone blocking scheme, and he’ll need to add some playmakers on offense."
Yes, adding players who understand Shanahan’s offense is a must. Lynch knows this too, which is why so many of San Francisco’s recent free-agent additions went this route.
And as I dutifully pointed out:
#49ers are largely singing FAs who have experience in Kyle Shanahan's offense. They understand it and will teach it to younger players.
— Peter Panacy (@PeterPanacy) March 10, 2017
So let’s start to make sense of it all.