The 49ers new offseason approach is a lot of fun

(Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire)

So each year every NFL fan base starts to reflect in mid-late February. The upcoming free agent lists, projected cap cuts, and overall cash to spend all start to circulate. Armchair GM’s begin to salivate, change is coming and you personally know exactly what your team should do, right? Eventually, it always turns into a pretty dividing period for fan bases sprinkled in with some optimism. One thing that we typically all agree on is what our team needs to address the most. Now how do teams handle this league wide? Frequently it’s by meticulously weighing all their potential options. The 49ers front office has had a different approach the past two years. They decided that they would simply grab the best option available to them at that position of need, what a concept!

San Francisco had a major problem in the secondary in 2021, what did they do? Went and signed a top corner in the league in Charvarius Ward and the reward was almost immediate. He was a lockdown corner for the league's best defense in 2022, finishing with the 4th highest PFF grade among corners who played 900+ snaps. According to playerprofiler.com, Charvarius held his main assignment to 35 yards or less 12 times in 2023, all while defending the 12th most attempts in the league. He was a GUY for this elite defense and was worth every penny of his 3 year - $40 Million deal.

Fast forward to Day 1 of free agency (yes, that’s today) and the 49ers have had a similar approach to last season. The defensive tackle position was significantly banged up in the playoffs and a long term solution became a priority as the season went on. The final straw came in the NFC Championship game when Javon Kinlaw was dismissed frequently by the Philly O-Line. What did San Francisco begin to concoct? An elementary thought process of replacing Javon with Javon of course. The NFL free agency fireworks kicked off with San Francisco signing former Eagles DT Javon Hargrave to a 4 year - $84 Million deal. Hargrave was an absolute menace for the Eagles last year, creating 57 QB pressures for a Philly team that led the league in sacks. He just turned 30 and is coming off an insane 90.8 pass rush grade season. 10 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, and elite company beside him once again in Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead. In case anyone wanted to talk about still needing depth run stopping pieces, the 49ers doubled down and signed vet Kevin Givens to a 1 year deal. What does this mean? The 49ers have set a precedent of being willing to upgrade significantly through free agency, something that keeps fans invested 365.

The 49ers D-Line is terrifying, and I don’t think they’re done adding yet with a potential need at EDGE. Outside of that I would look for some depth pieces on the O-Line (Center / RT) and a big Nick Bosa deal in the upcoming weeks. Regardless John Lynch has 11 draft picks to work with and has already given the Faithful a lot to smile about this offseason.

- Ryan Mobley || Upside Play