49ers' bargain-basement roster-building approach has finally run out of steam

One of the biggest things the San Francisco 49ers have been able to do in this now seemingly closing "Super Bowl window" era is get a lot of return for very little investment in down-the-roster players.

Players like defensive ends Arden Key and Charles Omenihu, or versatile offensive lineman Jon Feliciano for example, have filled vital rotational and depth roles for San Francisco over the past few years, and in many cases, have bagged themselves bigger contracts elsewhere.

It's a great credit to general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan that they've been able to do this, and it's allowed them to be able to fund contracts for key cornerstones of the roster like tight end George Kittle, defensive end Nick Bosa, and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, among others.

Unfortunately, even the best pipelines eventually stop running successfully, and that seems to have happened to the 49ers in 2024, possibly even before that.

In 2023, outside of the big splash for defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (which hasn't exactly worked out, although through very little fault of his own), the only outside signings to truly contribute anything were the aforementioned Feliciano, who remains on the team (albeit injured) and the former Las Vegas Raider pass-rusher Clelin Ferrell, who parlayed a solid season in the rotation into a deal with the Washington Commanders, who are of course now run by former Niners front office member Adam Peters.

Others, like nickel cornerback Isiah Oliver, were unmitigated disasters, with Oliver being so bad in 2023 that San Francisco signed Logan Ryan off a cruise ship to replace him late in the season.

An attempted 2023 mid-season trade for edge Chase Young also fell pretty flat, with Young recording a paltry 2.5 sacks and failing to spark the defense sufficiently for it's postseason run.

Young often looked an ill-fitting piece in then-defensive coordinator Steve Wilks' scheme, leaving almost as soon as physically possible to join the New Orleans Saints in free agency.

The 49ers followed that up this offseason by bringing in eight prominent outside free agents, and by hook or by crook, almost none have contributed effectively.

Let's analyse.

DL Leonard Floyd

This was supposed to be the encouraging "splash" of the free agency period: signing Floyd to a two-year, $20 million deal to pair opposite Bosa.

Sadly, there were some concerns that Floyd was losing his effectiveness, and that's largely been born out. While he's produced a solid 6.5 sacks at this point in the season, the veteran has been pretty pedestrian for a high-profile free agency signing.

It's not all his fault, of course. Floyd was supposed to function as part of a reconstituted D-line, but thanks to injuries and inept play, that hasn't happened. The loss of Hargrave, for instance, and the lack of depth behind Floyd at the edge, mean he's probably played a much larger snap count than could've reasonably been expected.

It's likely he'll complete his two-year contract, but it won't be surprising at all to see him moved to a more rotational role if the 49ers can bulk up the position this offseason.

DL Jordan Elliott

The two-year, $10 million signing of Elliott away from the Cleveland Browns was part of the Niners' attempt to remodel the defensive tackle position after the departure of Arik Armstead in the early days of free agency.

Between the acquisitions of Elliott and the trade for Houston Texans defensive tackle Maliek Collins, the most you could say about the changes at the position is that they haven't moved the needle in a positive or negative way.

Elliott has been pretty solid against the run in San Francisco tenure so far but produces almost nothing against the pass.

Again, the loss of Hargrave likely spotlights this more than expected, as Elliott was likely ticketed for a rotational role (not unlike that of former 49ers nose tackle D.J Jones) before the former's major injury.

Elliott has been OK, therefore, but nothing to write home about.

LB De'Vondre Campbell

Oh boy.

In fairness to the 49ers brass, this was always a reactive signing, both in attempting to replace linebacker and defensive leader Dre Greenlaw after his catastrophic injury suffered during the Super Bowl, and in responding to original target Erik Kendricks' decision to snub the Bay Area to join the Dallas Cowboys.

That said, it's hard to recall a veteran player who has put up such consistently putrid performances in the red and gold since the ill-fated Josh Norman signing in 2021.

Not unlike Norman, Campbell looks a long way past his prime, poor in run fits and a downright negative matchup against the pass. In fact, if you've seen a 49ers player chasing an opposing tight end down the field after a catch in 2024, it's probably been Campbell.

Thankfully, he only signed a one-year contract, and he's almost a dead cert to be playing somewhere else next season. Campbell is already splitting snaps with youngster Dee Winters, and most Niner fans would probably like to see Winters in there full time for the remainder of the season.

A truly disastrous signing.

OL Brandon Parker

Parker didn't make the team's roster after his one-year deal coming from the Oakland Raiders, and in truth, never looked particularly close to doing so.

DL Yetur Gross-Matos

Finally, someone who's a function of bad luck rather than bad design.

Gross-Matos represented the 49ers' second-biggest outlay in free agency after Floyd, a two-year, $18 million signing from the Carolina Panthers.

The former second-round draft pick out of Penn State was supposed to add the same defensive end/defensive tackle versatility that Armstead did, and perhaps we might have seen that if Gross-Matos hadn't spent most of the season ruled out by an injury.

It's hard to comment on the play of someone who's appeared in less than half of the team's games, although there are signs the first-year Niner might give the defensive line a little shot in the arm for the second half of the season. Gross-Matos' play in the Seattle Seahawks loss, in particular, was encouraging.

An incomplete grade, then. But D-line coach Kris Kocurek and the 49ers staff will be expecting a lot more in the second year of the pass-rusher's deal.

CB Isaac Yiadom

Yiadom came to the 49ers on a one-year deal following the best season of his pro career, starting 17 games for the Saints in 2023 with 14 pass deflections and one interception.

He likely had visions of starting more games, playing as one of the three top corners, possibly in the nickel role, when signing with San Francisco. Possibly, he then wanted to turn that into a lucrative multi-year deal somewhere else in the league.

Unfortunately, that's not happened.

Not only has Yiadom produced spotty-to-poor play on the field, the emergence of rookie cornerback Renardo Green has largely pushed the veteran to the sidelines, with him only seeing playing time once one of the top three is out, such as in Charvarius Ward's recent absence.

This deal has produced a lot of nothing for both Yiadom and the 49ers.

CB Chase Lucas

Lucas is currently on the practice squad and has shown no signs of being able to impact the roster in any meaningful way. Even newer signings like Nick McCloud are now being elevated above him to play on special teams.

A one-year flier that's led to nothing.

QB Josh Dobbs

It's easy to like Dobbs. He's shown some talent in the NFL, made some entertaining plays, and after coming over from the Minnesota Vikings on yet another one-year deal, he even made preseason football entertaining, with the "Passtronaught" impressing enough to hold a roster spot.

However, he remains mired at third on the 49ers' quarterback depth chart, and despite the recent injury to Brock Purdy and his NFL-proven talent, is showing no signs of getting an opportunity.

It seems Shanahan prefers Brandon Allen's more prescribed way of running the offense to Dobbs' free-wheeling approach, so it's unlikely we'll see any of the No. 3 QB this season, unless of course, Allen suffers an injury, too.

It's disappointing for the 49ers and for Dobbs that this hasn't worked out. Dobbs could've parlayed a decent showing in San Francisco into an opportunity elsewhere, a la Sam Darnold with the Vikings.

A disappointment all around, but no one ever thinks a backup quarterback signing is going to win you the Super Bowl, so we can give the team a pass here.

Conclusions

It's not good.

Of the eight profiled here, only Floyd and Elliott can reasonably be assumed to have played anywhere near as described (and that may be generous to Floyd), while Gross-Matos remains an enigma. Neither Lucas nor Parker made the roster, while Campbell, Yiadom and Dobbs all underwhelmed, although some (much) more than others.

Moreover, while these are the "big 8" that San Francisco made a show of signing, other pickups, like tight end Eric Saubert, have also failed to fulfill the role they were envisaged to have on the team. It's hard to blame someone like Saubert, for instance, for failing to succeed when the 49ers have tried multiple different ways to solve his position (that of No. 2 tight end), but it does exemplify a flaw in the franchise's approach.

To use a baseball analogy, the 49ers have hit way beyond their average with bargain free-agent pickups up until 2022. From 2023 onwards, they've regressed to the mean and possibly below it, and the effects are there for all to see, particularly when injuries start to bite the team as they have this season.

No one's asking for a rethink and for the team to suddenly turn into former owner Daniel Snyder's Washington in the early weeks of the offseason, but San Francisco needs to adjust it's approach to the bottom half of the roster and start finding production from depth players again soon.

Success depends on it.