Double K’s Take
The San Francisco 49ers and
The #2 Pick in the 2019 NFL Draft
This time last year...
The 49ers were a team on the rise they had just come off a 6-10 season and a lot of people like Fox Sports commentator Colin Cowherd had them as playoff favorites and Super Bowl contenders. Both of those expectations were a little bit lofty to me (i had them reaching the playoffs at most) but they were expected by most to be a breakout team in 2018. Then the season started and the 49ers had a rough start to the season at 1-2 and took a huge loss in the form of losing Jimmy G to injury. That game against Kansas City is where the bottom fell out on the 2018 season for the team, it started during offseason workouts. When newly acquired running back Jarred McKinnon tore his ACL during practice for the preseason. Now after the double loss in KC (losing Garoppolo and the game) this was the straw that broke the camel's back. The team floundered for the rest of the year suffering injury after injury (the season saw backup QB Beathard and RB Bredia go down) and finished the season with only 4 wins. The offense looked good at times with Bredia turing out a 200+ yard a game and third string QB Mullens throwing for over 300 yards on multiple occasions. They could never seem to string good games together that season, the defense on the other hand ended up finishing the season in the top 20 in yards allowed (13th) but ended up in the bottom 5 (28th) of the league in pts allowed (pro-football-reference.com).
The best of situations...
This left the team in a very good position despite the fact that they underwhelmed as a team last year finishing 4-12. Coming into this year they will be getting both their starting QB back in the man Jimmy G, the team will also be getting its first taste of McKinnon in coach Shanahan’s offense. This should make the offense extremely potent already as WR Donte Pettis (27 rec 467 yrds 5 TD’s) and Marquise Goodwin both return (23 rec 395 yrds 4 TD’s) both return to the fold along with slot receiver Trent Taylor (26 rec 215 yrds 1 TD). All of these returning players will lead to a team that as a whole will have a better grasp on the offense and defense. Then there's the new additions.
This off-season the 49ers walked into the season with a little over 50-70 million in cap room available to them (www.spotrac.com), they went out and spent it carefully. This off-season was filled with many, many big name free agents asking for big money. The 49ers could afford to pay them but the question is would GM John Lynch and HC Kyle Shanahan be willing to spend after showing in 2018 that they keep a tight wallet even with substantial cap room. This year was no different they signed MLB Kwon Alexander away from the Buccaneers for 4yrs $54M to replace troubled MLB Reuben Foster who was released and picked up off of waivers by that team from Washington. Then went out and addressed the need for an edge rusher via trade after finishing with 37 total sacks (led by DL Deforest Buckner with 12.0 scks) these numbers put them in the bottom 10 in this stat. This is huge because if your defense can't get to the QB then it makes for long days for your secondary. They addressed this need through trade, specifically a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for their young stud of a OLB in Dee Ford. Ford was a force this last season for the Chiefs. He had 13 sacks and 6 forced fumbles which both would have been tops on the 49ers in 2018. Ford is expected to bring that energy and those numbers to a talented front seven of the 49ers defense. Finally they added a piece to the offense that was surprising, with the return of McKinnon there were 4 viable backs (McKinnon, Bredia, Wilson Jr and Mozart). They then proceeded to go out and add another veteran running that knows Shanahan’s offense well. That running back is former Atlanta Falcon Tevin Coleman who is coming off a season in which he accounted for more than 1000 yards from scrimmage (800 rushing, 200 receiving). This makes the competition for reps come regular season has just got hot, and they still have the #2 pick in the draft even after all this work in free agency…
The 2019 NFL Draft...
The draft is the final piece of the puzzle, two years ago the 49ers had the number 2 pick in the draft. That year they traded back to #3 and got DL Solomon Thomas, they also got MLB Reuben Foster as well at number 31. Last year they picked again in the Top 10, this time at #9 and they decided to address the O-Line with OT Mike McGlinchey. McGlinchey had a solid rookie season where he started and finished all 16 games for the 49ers this season. The 49ers are looking to hit a homerun with this pick and they could do that in a myriad of ways, first and foremost would be to stand pat and take their choice of DL Williams (Alabama), OLB Allen (Kentucky) or even possibly the prize pass rusher DL Nick Bosa (Ohio State) any of those 3 young men would make an immediate impact on a defense that is already stout on the D-Line. Next option would be to trade back to a team like the Giants or Raiders to gain future draft picks in this draft or next years to help fill more holes and to add depth to areas like receiver (which the 49ers are expected to address in the top of the 2nd round) and O-Line. Heck they may even add another RB but at that #2 spot my recommendation would be to keep the pick add another stud to that D-Line and make that defense reminiscent of the “Legion of Boom” from Seattle’s heyday. So keep an eye out on the 49ers because they may be a year late but they are for sure ready to get to the party.
References
ESPN. (2019, April 01). San Francisco 49ers NFL - 49ers News, Scores, Stats, Rumors & More. Retrieved from http://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/sf
Pro Football Reference. (2019, April 01). 2018 San Francisco 49ers Statistics & Players. Retrieved from https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/sfo/2018.htm#
Spotrac. (2019, April 01). San Francisco 49ers Contracts. Retrieved from https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/san-francisco-49ers/contracts/
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