Both of the San Francisco 49ers' two top-caliber NFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Rams and conference-winning Seattle Seahawks, ultimately proved why the Niners were the third-best team within the division despite winning an astounding 12 games amid a slew of horrid injuries.
Yet head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad was wholly outclassed by the Hawks twice in the span in three weeks, both in Week 18 and then in the divisional round.
True, San Francisco can expect plenty of its injured star talent to return in full in 2026. But, unless either LA or Seattle completely implodes between now and August, the 49ers will be hard-pressed to wholly overtake either rival within the division anytime soon.
That means yet another serious effort to reconstruct the roster this offseason, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
While coordinator Robert Saleh's defense largely outperformed expectations down the stretch, particularly in light of injuries to stars like Fred Warner and Nick Bosa, Saleh is gone now to take over the Tennessee Titans' head-coaching duties. And despite a focus on his side of the ball during last April's NFL Draft, it appears as if the Niners need to double down on those efforts this upcoming offseason, too.
And there's one particular area of the defense that needs the most.
49ers need serious offseason upgrades in the secondary
Some would argue San Francisco desperately needs help on its defensive line, especially after recording a league-low 20 sacks.
Perhaps, but that figure largely stemmed from missing Bosa, who went down in Week 3 with an ACL tear. And it wasn't aided by first-round rookie Mykel Williams' similar fate in Week 9.
Both players should return in 2026, and the maturation of fellow 2025 rookies, defensive tackles Alfred Collins and C.J. West, should hopefully provide some serious thump from the interior. Tack on the return of edge rusher Keion White, while also exploring a low-cost re-sign addition of someone like Clelin Ferrell, and the 49ers pass rush doesn't appear to be as gloomy as one might think.
As for linebackers? Well, Warner nearly returned from his devastating ankle injury to appear in the playoffs. And while the depth behind him was tested to the extreme because of injuries, having a Dee Winters or Tatum Bethune as a No. 2 on the depth chart isn't exactly a bad scenario.
Besides, few teams have the luxury of two elite backers as the Niners once did with Warner and the now-Denver Broncos' Dre Greenlaw.
Instead, getting a ballhawking playmaker in the secondary should be seen as paramount.
It's an argument Niners Nation's Kyle Posey recently made, too, stressing:
"It’s a coverage league. The best defenses are rushing four and dropping seven in coverage. When you have a “guy”, teams are afraid to test, which allows you to allocate an extra player elsewhere, making it nearly impossible to be consistently successful on a down-to-down basis. Maybe it’s a safety. Perhaps it’s a cornerback. But throughout the playoffs and the second half of the season, the 49ers called plays like a team without an answer in the secondary. That needs to change in 2026."
San Francisco is paying cornerback Deommodore Lenoir to be a shutdown guy, but his 90.5 passer rating allowed suggests he's closer to being a top-end No. 2 corner than anything else. Two-year pro Renardo Green somehow managed to work his way into Shanahan's doghouse late in the season, so that's an unknown, leaving 2025 rookie Upton Stout as the lone remaining top-end hopeful.
Meanwhile, safety Ji'Ayir Brown flashed some moments in 2025 but doesn't appear to be a long-term answer, and fellow defensive back Malik Mustapha regressed after an impressive rookie year.
Keep in mind, the 49ers are playing in a division that features two elite wide receivers in the Rams' Puka Nacua and the Seahawks' Jaxson Smith-Njigba. Both of those playmakers were vital in getting their respective teams to the NFC Championship game, and in the latter's case, to the Super Bowl.
If the Niners want to be in that category, they'll need a defensive back who can eliminate such threats.