Honestly, it's been a pretty good couple of weeks to be a San Francisco 49ers fan. Trent Williams debacle aside, the Niners have done pretty much everything to keep fans happy at the start of the league year.
A Hall of Fame wideout comes in. Dre Greenlaw returns. Some clever depth signings, and a return for key special teams contributors. On top of all that, John Lynch nails a trade for a genuinely starting-calibre defensive tackle.
There's lots to be cheerful about, and potentially more to come. Even I, somewhat pessimistic heading into free agency, had been feeling pretty upbeat about things.
Then I read The Athletic's latest article.
Now, I love Matt Barrows; he rarely posts clickbait or nonsense, and I'd absolutely love to have his career. I also firmly believe that if he's posting it, it's come from well-sourced information inside the organisation.
That's what's so troubling.
As Barrows pointed out, San Francisco would appear, at least on the surface, to still need roster upgrades at wide receiver, defensive tackle, edge and linebacker, with particular focus on the latter two. I've got no arguments there; the 49ers currently have no obvious starting edge rusher opposite Nick Bosa (at least in pass-rush situations), while the linebacking corps is being held up by a recovering Fred Warner and oft-injured Dre Greenlaw.
What concerns me is the positions not mentioned (and even dismissed) in the article, namely the defensive backfield and offensive line.
Matt Barrows overlooking 49ers secondary, O-line is concerning
You've heard me pontificate enough on the Niners' offensive line plan and depth (or should I say, complete lack of it). But it's perhaps the other positions that concern me the most. As I said on Bluesky in response to the article, if things stand pat at cornerback and safety for the 49ers, I might cry.
Nate Hobbs was a great signing in free agency for one key reason (ignoring his positional flexibility, being able to play the slot and outside corner). He's an actual, bona-fide, capable starting cornerback. It would take a very generous grader for someone to give the 49ers any outside of Deommodore Lenoir and Upton Stout. I personally like Renardo Green, too, but it would appear the Niners don't, given the trade rumors surrounding him.
All of that is to say that for Barrows (presumably with some encouragement from inside sources) to say that the cornerback depth is mostly set, because Darrell Luter Jr. is on the roster, seems optimistic at best, insane at worst.
Luter is not a reliable cornerback and has proved it multiple times at this point. He's been on the 49ers roster for three seasons, and his most significant contribution is helping them lose a Super Bowl by having a ball bounce off his leg. He's never even sniffed the starting lineup, nor looked like doing so. And any time he has entered the lineup, such as the divisional playoff round versus the Seattle Seahawks, he's looked utterly lost and given up big plays.
It gets worse, though, as Barrows also opines the safety position is likely set, too. This might be even more egregious.
People can have their own opinions -- and I'd like to hear them if you can honestly argue against this in good faith -- but the safeties, by and large, are terrible. Ji'Ayir Brown seems to somehow both be a poor run stopper and pass defender, while Malik Mustapha shows no coverage skills whatsoever. There's, at best, one starting safety between the qualities of both players there, and 2025 rookie Marques Sigle has potential but was largely put in the deep freeze by the coaching staff for some reason.
All that leaves me to wonder: do the 49ers truly think this is as good as it gets? No one expects 53 players of starting quality to be on a roster. That's simply not viable in a salary-capped sport. But to continue trotting out has-beens, never-weres, and never-will-bes at premium positions, especially in the defensive backfield is part of the reason San Francisco often struggled against the pass.
There are some who would say, "Oh, well. The Niners don't place a premium value on the safety position," and that's fine. But maybe that explains why the roster is so lacking in the capability to force turnovers. There hasn't been a ballhawking safety on this team since Jimmie Ward, and he's long since left town.
The 49ers might think they can cover it with a sterling pass rush. Maybe they're right. But at the minute, that's not on the cards either.
There's still a long way to go in both the draft and free agency, so perhaps this doesn't hold up for the entire offseason.
But, assuming there's some merit in what Barrows writes, you have to wonder what's going on.
It continues a pattern where the 49ers seem to overvalue their own depth. In fact, they often take the term "one man's trash is another man's treasure" to extremes. The likes of Luter, Brown and even Nick Zakelj would not even be considered to start on most NFL rosters, and yet we're currently sitting in a situation where all three could be competing for playing time at three major spots.
Perhaps Barrows will be wrong. I certainly hope so. Let's hope the positive signs so far this year are evidence that they actually do recognise where the roster still has issues.