What Went Right
They fired GM Trent Baalke and made a long-term commitment to a coach and general manager. It's clear now that the 49ers were brutally wrong in choosing Baalke in a power struggle with head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh has gone on to excel at Michigan, whereas Baalke presided over two coaches in two years before following Chip Kelly out the door.
After striking out with Baalke and en route to hiring their fourth head coach in four years, the 49ers had to make some level of commitment to the people coming in. No head coach in his right mind would want to take this job without a fair amount of security, given the lack of talent on the roster and the terrifying attrition rate for the head role. Likewise, any general manager was going to need time.
You can take issue with the people Jed York ended up choosing. John Lynch has no experience running a personnel department. Kyle Shanahan was nearly out of an offensive coordinator job this time last year before a stunning season with the Falcons. And yet, at the same time, John Elway has done just fine running football operations for Denver despite a lack of experience as an exec, and it's often clear we have absolutely no idea what makes for a good head coach.
Shanahan and Lynch both picked up six-year contracts to take over in San Francisco, which is uncommon in the NFL, especially for first-timers. It was also probably the only way the 49ers were able to lure Shanahan away from Atlanta and Lynch out of the announcer's booth.
John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan smartly maneuvered the board in their first draft together in San Francisco. They managed the draft very well. Most first-time general managers make a mess of their first drafts, falling in love with specific players and wasting picks to trade up and grab them. Lynch, to the contrary, handled his first draft like an old pro. He conned the Bears into moving up one pick to grab a quarterback he didn't want, getting two third-round picks and a fourth-rounder while still coming away with the defensive lineman he wanted, Solomon Thomas, and saving $1 million or so in the process.
Lynch traded away the fourth-rounder he received to move up three spots and grab Reuben Foster at the end of the first round, which is one of the better trade-up decisions a team can make, given that picks at the end of the first round have a fifth-year option attached. Lynch followed by sending Chicago's third-round pick to the Saints for a 2018 second-round selection, which could be in the upper half of the round. Lynch made two small trade-ups in the later rounds of the draft, but he got the big things right.
What Went Wrong
Many of their free-agent contracts raised eyebrows. While Lynch handled the draft well, it certainly seems like the 49ers paid too much for the guys they added in free agency. The most notable contract was the four-year, $21 million deal the 49ers gave to Ravens fullback Kyle Juszczyk. Juszczyk wasn't the lead blocker in an effective running game, had just seven carries during his four seasons in Baltimore and was a checkdown machine when Joe Flacco's protection broke down, but the 49ers thought enough of Juszczyk to give him $15.5 million over his first three seasons in San Francisco. By contrast, Shanahan's former fullback in Atlanta, Patrick DiMarco, became the second-highest-paid fullback in football this offseason by signing a four-year, $8.4 million deal with $6.6 million spread over the first three years of his contract.
Malcolm Smith, who wasn't very good in Oakland and plays nearly as fungible a position as Juszczyk, signed a five-year, $26.5 million deal with $11.5 million in guarantees. Pierre Garcon, who turns 31 in August and was disenfranchised enough last season to request a trade away from Washington, signed a deal that amounts to a three-year, $29 million pact. Marquise Goodwin, who played a bit part in the Bills' passing game, picked up $4.5 million guaranteed on a two-year, $6 million deal.
While the 49ers probably had to pay premiums to bring in the players they wanted, it's also fair to wonder if those players will make much of a difference. Lynch and Shanahan might have wanted leaders who they felt were going to set a tone, and that's fair. At the same time, there are probably fullbacks bouncing around who could be leaders at a fraction of the cost. Wideouts such as Anquan Boldin are still out in the free-agent market. These aren't huge mistakes, but the deals raise questions about how the 49ers will value talent going forward.
What's Next?
Work on trades for RB Carlos Hyde and TE Vance McDonald. It appears the 49ers don't have much interest in holding on to two of the holdover playmakers from the Baalke era. They're reportedly in love with rookie fourth-round pick Joe Williams at halfback and have leaked their interest in trading McDonald. It would cost the 49ers an additional $3.5 million in dead money to move on from McDonald this year, but he would be off their cap in the years to come.
With Hyde a free agent after the season, the 49ers are better off trading him for the best draft pick they can find, especially given the likelihood they'll invest in free agents during the 2018 offseason and make themselves ineligible for a comp pick. The only problem is that there aren't many teams in need of a running back; Detroit and Washington are two of the few who could have interest in acquiring a back at this point of the offseason.
Grade: B-
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page/Barnwell2017GradesAll32/bill-barnwell-offseason-report-cards-all-32-nfl-teams
[ Edited by JBrack on May 28, 2017 at 12:06 PM ]
