49ers news: Rich Eisen defends San Francisco’s 2020 offseason

It seems Rich Eisen holds the San Francisco 49ers front office in high regard and defended their actions this offseason.

NBC Sports’ Rich Eisen spoke about the San Francisco 49ers this week on his well-known program, The Rich Eisen Show, and had nothing but good things to say about San Francisco’s moves this offseason. It seemed some of his co-hosts disagreed with the praise Eisen gave the Niners, however, going as far as to say that they felt the 49ers had one of the worst of any team in the league.

No, the 49ers did not have a crazy blockbuster offseason, but it seems a little unfair to San Francisco, as the team didn’t have many holes on the roster anyways. So naturally, it wasn’t forced to make a lot of blockbuster moves to try and impress fans or the media.

The Niners just made the Super Bowl in case anyone forgot, so I don’t think they have much to change other than a few minor tweaks here and there.

Eisen carefully reminded his audience the 49ers flipped Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner for a first-round pick, that was used to select rookie defensive linemen Javon Kinlaw. Although Kinlaw may not be at the skill level of Buckner in his rookie year, he will provide close to the same production as him, at a fraction of the annual price.

You can check out Eisen’s comments below:

This was not only a smart move but a necessary one, as keeping Buckner this season would mean the franchise would potentially lose out on another key player such as breakout defensive tackle Arik Armstead or All-Pro tight end George Kittle to free agency next offseason, while also not getting a first-round pick in return.

Paying everybody is impossible, so sometimes the best moves are the ones that people may dislike.

Don’t forget the 49ers landed Trent Williams

It seems one his co-hosts even forget about the addition of Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams, going as far as to say that the Niners added “absolutely no one” this offseason. He quickly reminded his peers about one of the most surprising and intelligent moves of the draft: Trading a third- and fifth-round draft picks for Williams in the middle of the 2020 draft. The fact the 49ers lost future Hall of Famer Joe Staley to retirement, only to instantly replace him with a player of Williams’ caliber who at this point in his career is definitely an upgrade over Staley, can only be seen as a win for the franchise.

Eisen also quickly went on to review the importance of the Niners retaining most of their coaching staff, notably defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. He highlighted the importance of the team keeping its core players and staff members, as well as extending head coach Kyle Shanahan for years to come.

Eisen was definitely offended by the bashing of San Francisco’s offseason ballad to date, and rightfully so. Let’s not forget the 49ers just went 13-3, so just because a bad team adds some talented players to a putrid roster (Miami Dolphins, I’m looking at you), it doesn’t mean that team is suddenly good. In fact, all they did was patch up the most glaring holes on their team, which is something a team should be doing season to season, anyways.

Oh, and how can I forget, the Niners front office replaced wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who walked in free-agency for monetary reasons, with a cheaper and faster first-round rookie option in Brandon Aiyuk.

But I guess that’s nothing nowadays, right?

The 49ers were a highly competitive team last season and it seems like they are staying that way going into this next NFL season.  That is as good an offseason as any NFL could wish for.