Niner Noise
FanSided

San Francisco 49ers: 2019 NFL free agency targets, mock draft style

By Peter Panacy

SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 14: Free safety Earl Thomas #29 of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates with middle linebacker Bobby Wagner #54 of the Seattle Seahawks after Thomas made a play on a kick return during the htird quarter of the game against the San Francisco 49ers at CenturyLink Field on December 14, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 14: Free safety Earl Thomas #29 of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates with middle linebacker Bobby Wagner #54 of the Seattle Seahawks after Thomas made a play on a kick return during the htird quarter of the game against the San Francisco 49ers at CenturyLink Field on December 14, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 27: Free safety Earl Thomas III #29 of the Seattle Seahawks tackles running back Frank Gore #21 of the San Francisco 49ers on an eight-yard gain in the third quarter on November 27, 2014 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Seahawks won 19-3. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 27: Free safety Earl Thomas III #29 of the Seattle Seahawks tackles running back Frank Gore #21 of the San Francisco 49ers on an eight-yard gain in the third quarter on November 27, 2014 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Seahawks won 19-3. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /

The San Francisco 49ers will have nearly $70 million in cap space to attack NFL free agency in 2019, and Niner Noise puts the targets together in a mock draft-sort of style.

OK, so there’s no round format for NFL free agency, and the San Francisco 49ers are free to sign any free agent as quickly as they want, as long as there’s mutual interest.

But for the sake of some fun, what if we were to dish out the Niners’ likely top targets in a mock draft of sorts? Sounds like a silly exercise? Good. We’ve got you fooled, and we’re kings of silly offseason exercises.

A little context first. The deadline for teams to apply franchise or transition tags has already passed, and you can check out the list of players who were hit with tags heading into 2019. That essentially means they’re off the table, minus the non-exclusive types, although transactions for those players is extremely rare.

As for the rest? Well, happy bidding.

Right now, the 49ers are projected to have $67,493,622 in cap space, according to Over the Cap. That number will fluctuate and change, of course, and San Francisco will save a good deal for both its 2019 rookie NFL Draft class and additional wiggle room during the regular season.

Still, it’s a lot. And one should expect the Niners to hit the NFL free agency market aggressively.

OK, now for some rules and criteria. In this mock free agency breakdown, San Francisco will get its choice of no more than two Tier 1 free agents. Then they’ll have three Tier 2 free agents and four Tier 3 free agents.

By tiers, we mean:

  • Tier 1: High-profile, Pro Bowl-type player
  • Tier 2: Quality starter
  • Tier 3: Useful starter, reserve or backup-type player

The kicker, though, is trying to make all the money fit. Oh, and it helps if that player fills a need, too.

The Tier 1 guys always get the most attention, so let’s start at the bottom and find four Tier 3 players the 49ers grab in this NFL free agency mock.