Next years draft, what should we do since...

I see us letting go of Haralson and Goodwin. Those two can be replaced through the draft or by one of the players already on the roster (Kilgore stepping in at center). Manningham is entering the last year of his deal and I like what he brings to the offense. We could approach him about signing an extension and lowering his cap number. I believe he will be more than willing to do so and remain with the team. Donte Whitner falls into this category as well. Crabtree is a possible option entering year 5 (I believe he has a six year deal) as well. If not, draft a receiver and be prepared to cut ties in 2014. Then there is David Akers. He has to pick it up or could be released. CJ Spillman could be released (top special team performer, but high cap number given his role). I would like to lower Smith's cap number as well, but he isn't making much by QB standards as it is. Most likely he gets through 2013 as the starter and then we roll with CK in 2014, unless AS makes it to and/or wins a Super Bowl. As for our own FAs, under this scenario, we probably only resign Goldson and RJF. Tough decisions to be made, but if we can just bring back Goldson and RJF, we should be ok before the cap increases in 2014 or so.

Justin Smith has a high number, but given his age, I hope the FO lets him play out the contract and then try to resign him. The 2012 and 2013 draft classes panning out will be very important because we have some tough decisions ahead. We are going to have about 10 + rookies on the roster next season (I count virtually all of the 2012 draft picks as rookies), so there will be a lot of young talent that has the opportunity to go out a prove itself.

As you guys are saying, we have quite a few players to decide whether they stay or go. I think we will see quite a few of next year's draft choices make the team as backups/future starters. This will be a big year for planning the future. Here is how I see the FA picture:

Moss- Gone after this year. He did his job with the young guys. Crabtree is starting to be that clutch guy; picking up the necessary YAC. Manningham, Williams and Jenkins are good, young guys to build around. I wouldn't be surprised to see the team draft another WR to bring along. A guy with KR/PR ability would be ideal.

Ginn- Same as Moss. He will be gone in favor of a guy that can bring more versatility to the return game. James is his possible successor.

Jacobs- Gone. Gore looks like he could keep going for another 2 years with Hunter getting some carries. LaMichael James should see some good action now with Hunter out, so Gore might get even more time off, which seems to keep him fresh. The only concern going forward is that Gore is the only "bigger" back. Jewel Hampton was brought up to see how he does. Dixon just isn't the answer going forward. I like him as a special teamer, but that's about it. They may use a mid to late round pick on a bigger back.

Sopoaga/RJF- The team is going to find a way to keep at least one of these guys. RJF is younger, but Sopoaga is a more natural NT and he doesn't want to leave San Francisco. I would love to see both guys back, but that probably isn't possible. If I had to guess, I would say Sopoaga will be back and Ian Williams will step up as his heir apparent.

Delanie Walker- I love this guy and I really hope the team brings him back. He doesn't make an impact catching the ball very often, but he is sensational in run blocking and he still gets attention down the field. He and Vernon are like a lesser version of Willis and Bowman. If he goes than I can definitely see the team using a higher pick on TE. Walker's role is too important and Celek just isn't up to the task.

Goldson- This is the big one. Signing Bowman this earlier sends a message to the team that they want to keep a good thing going. Goldson is a huge part of this defense. In my opinion, he is priority number one, but signing him probably means letting most, if not all, of the other FAs walk. IF Goldson goes, they have to use one of the first three picks on his replacement. Spillman, McBath, and Robinson are probably not going to take his place.

Larry Grant- Gone. He is talented and will probably land a starting job somewhere. With Willis and Bowman locked up it just doesn't make sense to spend money on him. Gooden is a solid back-up, Wilhoite showed promise in the preseason, and they can probably find a mid round pick to compete for his spot on special teams.

Leonard Davis- Gone. Time for Looney to step up. They will probably look to bring in another young swing tackle in the draft.

Haggans- With Fleming and Johnson waiting in the wings, and possible replacements to be drafted, Haggans is unnecessary.

Possible cuts:

Akers- He is 37 years old, having a bad season, and he costs a decent amount. Draft his replacement and bring in a few other guys to compete.

Haralson- He is a solid guy in run support and knows the defense well. He is just too expensive. I wouldn't mind seeing him as a back-up, but they need a guy with special teams ability. Fleming and Johnson will get their opportunities, but a high round pick would be an ideal replacement.

Goodwin- I hate to mess with a line that is finally playing well, but Goodwin is too old and costs too much. He will be cut if Kilgore proves he can take over. Kilgore is seeing time in Jumbo packages, just like Boone last year.

Alex Smith- Without getting into a tired topic, it would make sense to get rid of his contract and hand things over to Kaepernick.

If we give contract extensions to Whitner, Justin Smith, Manningham, and possibly others, we should have enough money to sign a solid draft class as well as Goldson, Walker, and one of the NTs. The rest of the holes should be able to be filled by last year's draft class and this year's guys. There is plenty of dead weight to trim without effecting the nucleus that has been built. Guys that the team will have to replace soon, like:Gore, Justin Smith, Goodwin, and (worst case scenario) Goldson will have to be a big focus of the next two draft classes. The good news is that most of the current starters are either entering their prime or have a very capable back-up in place.

I think defensive line needs to be the priority in the draft.

We need to use a high draft pick (1st or 2nd rd) on either a DT or NT to start immediately and/or for depth and eventual takeover as Justin Smith declines.
I think with one of our first 4 picks, we should be drafting a safety also. Ideal candidate will be elite athlete that can have impact on special teams and compete with Robinson to replace Whitner after 2013.
Another one of the top 4 picks should be a corner with the idea that he will allow us to release Carlos Rogers after next season. Bonus if he's a return guy.
The 4th of our top 4 picks should be an OT. Idea is to eventually replace either Staley or A Davis (if we will have problem affording him). Either way we need the depth.

The 7 other picks (plus compensatory picks if any) should be used to accomplish the following:
1) Move up to get guys that we covet (from the priorities above)
2) Draft depth at any of following positions: TE, OLB (if Harelson is released), ILB, DL, WR
3) Trade for picks in future draft

As far as who to release... Akers needs to be released. That's the easy one.
Haralson needs to take a severe pay cut or get released. I'd prefer to severely cut his pay and keep him. I'm much more comfortable with him as our backup OLB over Flemming / Cam Johnson / Rookie since there's a grand total of zero experience there.
I don't really want to cut Goodwin, but if i want to resign Goldson, which i do, then i think we'll need to cut Goodwin for any chance to afford him.
Alex Smith i don't think should be cut. We either keep him or trade him, but i think it would be a mistake to just release him. He has a very reasonable salary and there are enough teams in need of a starting QB that i think we could get some pretty decent picks for him. I'd prefer to keep him cuz QB's in the NFL get injured... regularly. Having said that, if we get offered a great package of future picks, we gotta make that move. Saves significant salary, and gives us pieces to build our future around.

By the time we pick (#32 hopefully ) BPA is the only policy. Considering decent centres/guards are available there as might non-pass rushing defensive linemen, that would fit our needs nicely too. It also depends on what we do about Goldson - drafting a safety wouldn't hurt in case we can only tag him again.

With the plethora of picks we'll have (11 + 2 non-tradable compensatories) I can also see us packaging some to move up in some mid rounds to grab a guy we like, or perhaps trading them for future ones again.

The Niners front office will treat the draft the same as they do every year. Things can and will change by the end of the year with this roster and the Niners will make their picks based on the needs at the time. There are still needs at OLB, backup OT, FS and CB. Things will proceed just like normal.

next year i think we will rebuild the front line and secondary for the future

I would like to get younger on the front line. Jenkins from Georgia or Hankins from Ohio state would make me a happy dude.

Originally posted by JustinNiner:
next year i think we will rebuild the front line and secondary for the future

This is the most logical. But I always say BPA

All depends on free agency. I will say that the 2012 draft class does not look strong to this point (we will see the truth over the next couple of seasons if there is even one starter fom this class..I am a bit skeptical), so we need to find starters from the next class, to begin to replace higher priced vets.

I'll let Trent Baalke and our Front Office do their magic. They know what they're doing regarding the salary cap. As for the draft, we have more that enough picks (11-12 picks?) to move around and add quality talent!