Niner Noise
FanSided

5 moves the 49ers need to make this 2018 offseason

By Peter Panacy

General manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
General manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 31: General Manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers looks on from the sidelines during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 31: General Manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers looks on from the sidelines during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

The San Francisco 49ers appear to be in pretty good shape heading into 2018, although there are some critical moves the team should make in free agency, the NFL Draft and elsewhere.

Signs are beginning to point to the San Francisco 49ers being a legitimate playoff contender in 2018.

After all, the Niners locked up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for the next five years. And by all accounts, he seems to be the real deal.

The team also brought back veteran center Daniel Kilgore, who was a pending free agent, ensuring continuity between he and Garoppolo. Kilgore’s play improved dramatically when Garoppolo took over starting duties late last season.

That will help. But the Niners still have plenty of holes to fill on both sides of the ball.

General manager John Lynch is armed with a top-10 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, as well as roughly $74.5 million in available cap space after the Garoppolo and Kilgore deals. That’s a pretty good position to be in, especially for a team still looking to make serious upgrades.

So what would some of those be?

In this slideshow, we’ll look at five moves Lynch and Co. need to make this offseason and why each is so critical to the team’s chances this season.