3 players 49ers should have signed in 2020 NFL free agency

The San Francisco 49ers were fairly quiet on the NFL free agency market aside from re-signing some of their own players, yet these free agents should have been targets.

It should have been expected the San Francisco 49ers weren’t going to be high rollers on the 2020 NFL free agency market this offseason.

Two of the team’s biggest priorities were re-signing defensive end Arik Armstead and safety Jimmie Ward, which were done successfully, but ultimately came at the cost of trading away defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts to help free up cap space.

This ultimately left about $17 million in cap space for general manager John Lynch, and he elected not to use some of that to re-sign veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who eventually left for the New Orleans Saints after half a season in San Francisco.

Instead, the 49ers made supplementary moves, such as bringing aboard depth wide receiver Travis Benjamin on a one-year deal, while bolstering the defense with linebacker Joe Walker and defensive lineman Kerry Hyder.

These certainly aren’t the splashy free-agent signings many fans would have likely wanted to see, and that’s fine. Depth can be just as important as a quality starter.

Still, there are some players whom San Francisco should have gone after a bit more aggressively this offseason. Some would have helped fill key voids on the roster, while others would have provided some solid depth in other places. At least one of the players mentioned here was rumored to be a 49ers target. Others, however, may not have even come close to being on Lynch’s radar.

At any rate, here are three players the Niners should have signed in NFL free agency this offseason.