49ers should trade for Jets safety Jamal Adams

Safety Jamal Adams wants out of New York and the 49ers should trade for him.

New York Jets safety Jamal Adams, in my opinion, is the best strong safety in the league, earning first-team All-Pro honors and an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 87.9 last season. Adding a player of his caliber to the San Francisco 49ers‘ elite defense would provide a huge boost to the team’s Super Bowl aspirations.

I have no idea what it would take to get him. But the most relevant comparison would be the trading of safety Minkah Fitzpatrick from the Miami Dolphins to the Pittsburgh Steelers last season:

Fitzpatrick proceeded to play an All-Pro season of his own, making the above trade a little too favorable for the Steelers.

My offer in a hypothetical 49ers trade for Adams would be a 2021 first-round pick, a fourth-round pick and safety Jaquiski Tartt.

I almost put down a fifth-round pick instead of the fourth rounder, but remember the 49ers tend to have trouble drafting in the fourth round (e.g. the long forgotten running back, Joe Williams, and the oft-injured defensive lineman, Kentavius Street) and draft studs like tight end George Kittle and linebacker Dre Greenlaw in the fifth round. Maybe the 49ers could even get a fifth-round pick back from the Jets.

The main argument against getting Adams is the fact he has made it clear he wants a new contract. Getting traded to one of his preferred destinations makes him less likely to hold out, but it is something that still needs to be considered.

Adams will likely want to be the top paid player at his position. The current leader is Chicago Bears safety Eddie Jackson at $14.6 million per year, which would likely make Adams’ asking price $15 million annually.

Over the Cap currently has $49.7 million in cap space for the 49ers in 2021, which may seem like a lot, but there’s still the likely large contract extensions of Kittle and left tackle Trent Williams.

The 49ers are going to have to make some changes to fit Adams in. Cutting kicker Robbie Gould is the first thing that comes to mind, but they’ll probably have to let key players like cornerback K’Waun Williams and defensive tackle D.J. Jones walk in free agency.

If that’s not enough, there’s always the option of cutting EDGE Dee Ford in favor of a cheaper player like potential free agent EDGEs Justin Houston and Ryan Kerrigan.

The bottom line is, I think acquiring the All-Pro safety more than makes up for the loss of talent in other parts of the defense, and the 49ers’ Executive Vice President of Football Operations (or salary cap wizard), Paraag Marathe, is more than capable of working his magic to fit Adams in.