The 49ers are poised to make a strong push for the playoffs in 2022, but there are still some major question marks on the table for Kyle Shanahan and Co.
No team is perfect heading into any given ramp-up period ahead of the regular season, and the San Francisco 49ers certainly aren’t an exception.
The Niners’ finish last year in the NFC Championship game revealed some of head coach Kyle Shanahan’s roster shortcomings and weaknesses, namely with a flamed-out offense that largely went stagnant leading up to the defeat at the hands of the eventual Super Bowl-champion Los Angeles Rams, and those deficiencies were hopefully addressed enough in the early weeks and months of the 2022 offseason.
The hope is, of course, San Francisco will be improved this year, aiming to turn what was a 10-7 finish and surprisingly deep push into the postseason into something more.
However, those hopes don’t remove the fact Shanahan and the 49ers still face some notably big questions as they prepare for the remainder of their offseason workouts, training camp and eventually the regular season.
Particularly these five.
49ers burning question No. 5: Will strong safety be an issue?
The Niners elected not to re-sign veteran strong safety Jaquiski Tartt this offseason, and they also passed up on opportunities to draft a promising replacement, namely the Round 3 defensive-back targets like Illinois’ Kerby Joseph and Maryland’s Nick Cross, both of whom were available when San Francisco was slated to pick at No. 93 overall.
Instead, the 49ers went with running back Tyrion Davis-Price, a surprising selection, and the only “add” they made for this particular spot came after the draft, grabbing Texas A&M safety Leon O’Neal Jr. as an undrafted free agent.
On paper, it appears as if the Niners are going to open up the door for O’Neal to surprise the likely favorites to replace Tartt: George Odum, Talanoa Hufanga and Tarvarius Moore.
Hufanga, the second-year pro, didn’t exactly impress in coverage last season and pegs as more of a special teams contributor, which has been Odum’s calling, too, for the bulk of his career.
Moore, meanwhile, missed all of 2021 with a torn Achilles.
Perhaps this question mark dissipates, especially if Moore winds up finally finding his footing after being drafted in 2018, but it’s still a fair problem to worry about.
49ers burning question No. 4: Who replaces K’Waun Williams at nickel cornerback?
Nickel cornerbacks are essentially starters now in today’s pass-happy NFL and the shift from base formations into sub packages with three wide receivers on the field at any given time.
From 2017 through 2021, San Francisco had one of the better nickel backs in K’Waun Williams, yet he left for the Denver Broncos during the offseason, further magnifying the 49ers’ already apparent weakness at cornerback.
The 49ers subsequently responded by adding former Toledo defensive back Samuel Womack in the NFL Draft, and Womack’s measurables remind many of what Williams offered to the Niners for so many years.
Assuming Womack develops, though.
San Francisco has options here, however, and it’s not entirely a bad situation to be in. A less-ideal choice would be for free safety Jimmie Ward to play nickel, although that’d free up another void at safety. But in the wake of the 49ers adding big-ticket cornerback Charvarius Ward in free agency, then re-signing fellow boundary corner Jason Verrett to another one-year deal, it’s feasible the Niners move Emmanuel Moseley into a nickel role this season.
That’s probably the fix, even if it means Womack won’t grace the field too much in year one.
49ers burning question No. 3: Can Aaron Banks cut it at left guard?
The Niners have plenty of questions surrounding their offensive line entering 2022, including wondering whether or not Pro Bowl center Alex Mack will actually retire.
But with each passing day that Mack remains not retired, the signs of him returning get better.
The bigger glaring question, however, is at left guard where San Francisco watched Pro Bowler Laken Tomlinson depart in free agency to join the New York Jets on a lucrative $40 million deal over three years.
It appeared as if the 49ers were preparing for this kind of outcome, spending a second-round pick in 2021 on Notre Dame left guard Aaron Banks.
Yet Banks failed to impress his rookie season when given the chance to compete for a starting right guard spot, ultimately losing that competition and seeing a mere five regular-season snaps over the entirety of the year.
The hope will be for Banks to feel much more comfortable at his natural spot on the left side of the O-line, and a full year’s development can only do good in this regard.
It’ll be a tough void to fill, however, and the last thing the Niners need is to have Banks completely flame out in year two after he was originally tabbed as a long-term replacement for Tomlinson.
49ers burning question No. 2: What happens with Deebo Samuel?
Let’s face it, the bulk of drama surrounding San Francisco on day one of the 2022 NFL Draft involved whether or not the team would trade All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel, whose previous trade request sent shockwaves through the fanbase.
The once-sour relationship might have relaxed a bit in recent weeks, and the 49ers elected not to honor his request.
Still, that doesn’t mean the situation is wholly resolved.
Read More: 3 reasons why 49ers could still trade Deebo Samuel
Samuel is rightfully seeking what should be a lucrative contract extension, putting him in the ranks of the most well-paid receivers in the league right now. And the Niners know his value, too, only the drawn-out elements of contract talks preventing a new deal from being announced imminently.
Now, San Francisco knows it still owns Samuel’s rights for 2022, and it technically doesn’t have to do anything anytime soon.
Yet that’ll come with the risk of potentially alienating Samuel to the point where his frustrations boil over into the regular season, perhaps to the point where he’ll be a distraction for a team that needs anything but.
No, this storyline isn’t going away anytime soon.
49ers burning question No. 1: Will Trey Lance make the second-year leap?
We can question and scoff at the 49ers’ apparent mishandling of the situation between quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance. But the cold, hard reality is Lance will be the long-term solution under center.
Garoppolo, whether you’re a fan of him or not, is still in lame-duck status. The Niners should have moved him much earlier instead of painfully retaining him on the roster, currently.
Enough about Jimmy G, though. Lance is the bigger burning question.
Two starts amid Garoppolo injuries last year, Lance going 1-1 in those starts and looking “meh” in his NFL debut and then more than impressive in Week 17 against the Houston Texans.
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Yet that abbreviated stat line from the 2021 No. 3 overall draft pick’s rookie year also doesn’t completely cover his notable inexperience from the college level at North Dakota State, one that saw him start for just one full season, 2019, appear in only one game in 2020 before the pandemic shut things down and his mere 318 pass attempts over his collegiate tenure.
As far as the skills, smarts and work ethic, Lance has it all.
But, will those traits be enough for him to turn into a legitimate weapon? Or will he wind up floundering amid the pressure?
Pretty big question, especially considering what the Niners gave up to draft him.