The San Francisco 49ers enter the offseason with a number of needs to address. Probably their two most pressing needs are adding an edge rusher and improving their wide receiver depth chart.
The Niners were able to land a good defensive coordinator in Raheem Morris, but the defense is only going to improve in a real way if they add talent in the offseason.
San Francisco was the worst team in the NFL when it came to getting to the quarterback last season, boasting a mere 20 sacks, which is dreadful.
Obviously, part of that has to do with losing both Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams to ACL tears, but even if they had stayed healthy, the 49ers could stand to add more power at edge rusher.
If the Niners are serious about getting better on defense, then there are three obvious targets they need to pursue this offseason.
Maxx Crosby
The relationship between the Las Vegas Raiders and edge rusher Maxx Crosby has seemed to sour.
Crosby has been loyal to Vegas, but with the organization being an absolute dumpster fire, it would not be a huge shock if a split occurred this offseason.
Crosby had 10 sacks last season and has made the Pro Bowl each of the last five seasons. He has spoken favorably about the Bay Area in the past and started his NFL career playing in Oakland, so a return to Northern California seems like it would make sense for the Niners.
Myles Garrett
Probably the best edge rusher in the game is Myles Garrett. He broke the NFL sack record for a single season in 2025 with 23 sacks, which is a remarkable number. The Niners should definitely kick the tires and see if the Cleveland Browns would be interested in dealing him.
It would not be cheap, but adding Garrett opposite Bosa would take San Francisco’s defense to the next level and would give the Niners the best pass rush in the NFL.
Trey Hendrickson
While the Niners would have to part with a lot of draft capital, and potentially some players, to land either Crosby or Garrett, they’d have to open up the pocket book to land Trey Hendrickson.
For years, Hendrickson has been the lone bright spot on a pretty bad Cincinnati Bengals defense, and the Niners were heavily connected to him following Bosa’s injury last year.
Hendrickson had just four sacks in seven games last season as he dealt with injuries, but he had 17.5 in both 2023 and 2024, so when he’s healthy, he’s one of the best edge rushers in the game.
None of these three players will be easy to land, but if the 49ers want to transform their defense this offseason, then they need to make a strong push to get one of these guys in red and gold.