Niner Noise
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Grading 49ers’ 2019 offseason through opening of NFL free agency

By Peter Panacy

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) /
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GREEN BAY, WI – OCTOBER 15: General Manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers watches action prior to a game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on October 15, 2018 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
GREEN BAY, WI – OCTOBER 15: General Manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers watches action prior to a game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on October 15, 2018 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

The San Francisco 49ers weren’t quite as aggressive on the NFL free agency front as initially thought. But a blockbuster trade for Kansas City Chiefs EDGE Dee Ford helps overall offseason grades so far.

Despite being armed with roughly $66 million in cap space at the start of NFL free agency, the San Francisco 49ers weren’t exactly the biggest players on the open market when the “legal tampering” period kicked off on March 11.

One of the presumed biggest targets for the Niners, former Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas, ended up signing a lengthy deal with the Baltimore Ravens. The safety market, which also included Landon Collins, Tyrann Mathieu and Adrian Amos, dried up awfully quick.

San Francisco missed out on trades for superstar wide receivers Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham Jr., who were eventually dealt to the Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns, respectively.

Linebacker C.J. Mosley signed elsewhere. So did EDGE Trey Flowers. And, as of yet, the 49ers haven’t been overly linked to any other wide receiver outside of some buzz surrounding Beckham.

But general manager John Lynch and the 49ers were able to make a handful of notable moves, including inking former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Kwon Alexander to a four-year deal and trading for Kansas City Chiefs EDGE Dee Ford. Those were areas of need, yet there’s a lot left to be done here.

If we assume the Niners’ needs included a wide receiver, an edge rusher, a cornerback, a linebacker and safety help, San Francisco’s offseason is still awfully incomplete.

So far, though, how would one go about grading the team’s offseason through these initial phases of NFL free agency?

Let’s try to do that, starting with the team’s on-roster moves carrying over from 2018.