Mid-Season Mock Offseason Plan

Current Cap Room: $700K (w. carryover)

- Restructure Kaep's contract: $9M in savings
- Extend Aldon Smith's contract: $7M in savings
- Extend Stevie Johnson's contract: $5M in savings
- Cut Craig Dahl from the roster: $1.7M in savings

New Cap Room: $23.4M (confirmed via Jason - AB81Rules)

--

Resign: $7M
- Perrish Cox
- Michael Wilhoite
- Blaine Gabbert
- Kyle Nelson
- Brandon Lloyd

Free Agency: $4M
- Kareem Jackson - CB - Texans (4 year deal)

Trade: $8M
49ers trade 4th round pick for Bucs Vincent Jackson - WR.

--

Draft:

*49ers trade 1st round pick for 2nd and 3rd round picks.
*Trade 2nd and 5th to move up in 2nd round*

R2: Lorenzo Maudlin - DE/OLB - Louisville (via trade down)

R2: Ameer Abdullah - RB - Nebraska (via trade up)

R3: Carl Davis - DT/DE - Iowa

R3: Corey Robinson - OT/OG - South Carolina (via trade down)

R4: Kyshoen Jarrett - S - Virginia Tech (comp)

R6: Taylor Kelly - QB - Arizona State

R7: Miles Dieffenbach - OG - Penn State

Returning from IR/PUP:

Acker and Reaser - CB
Millard and Celek - TE
Ramsey and Dorsey - DL

--

Depth Chart:

QB: Kaepernick/Gabbert
RB: Hyde/Abdullah*/Lattimore
FB: Miller
TE: Davis/Carrier/Millard

WR: Jackson*/Patton
WR: Boldin/Ellington
WR: Johnson/Lloyd

LT: Staley/Robinson*
LG: Looney/Thomas
C: Martin/Kilgore
RG: Boone
RT: Davis/Martin

LE: McDonald/Davis*
NT: Dorsey/Williams
RE: Smith/Dial/Carradine

OLB: Smith/Lynch
ILB: Willis/Borland/Moody
ILB: Bowman/Wilhoite
OLB: Brooks/Maudlin*

CB: Brock/Cox/Reaser
CB: Martin*/Johnson
FS: Reid/Ward
SS: Bethea/Jarrett*/McCray

ST: Dawson, Lee, Nelson

I like what you did. Very creative.

When it comes to the draft here are my thoughts.
Davis has not been his productive old self. Mac Donald
has not come close to what we require in a back up.

1st round Te
2nd round CB I think our corners are great tacklers but their getting burned.
this could be a first round pick.
3rd round OT Martin is has been getting spanked in the back up role

I'd consider cutting Ahmad Brooks or definitely force him to restructure. Not sure about the list of free agent corners but Jackson isn't that great. And I think if Cox keeps playing like he is he will command about 4/5 million a year. I like all the pick and the Vincent Jackson move would be great. Good work

I think instead of picking Carl Davis in round 3 Everret goals on would make more sense. But that's just me. Overall I'd be really happy with all these moves.

Not a bad mock. The inescapable truth is the 49ers need to concentrate on the Lines this offseason. If Iupati leaves and with the way Boone is playing we might have to replace both. We need help in the pass rush and we are not getting it with our current players. We need some studs in the defensive line. If I am drafting I concentrate on the O-line and D-line.

With the mid round picks I would look for best player available with an eye to a safety for depth and maybe a RB depending upon Gore retiring.

In the later rounds I would look for bargains, players that droppred like Lynch did for us or players who might have to spend their rookie year's on IR but would have gone much higher if not injured.

The trades are pretty bad. Basically moving out of the first for a third round pick, minus a fifth rounder would rather go BPA.

It's NEVER too early for some draft action!

Thanks.

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:

It's NEVER too early for some draft action!

Thanks.

This.

Interesting but sad point of your depth chart in regards to our 2013 draft.

Early 2nd rd pick Tank Carradine is listed as 3rd string.
2nd rd pick Vance McDonald gets cut
3rd rd pick Lemonier gets cut

What a waste of picks.

Originally posted by GEEK:
Current Cap Room: $700K (w. carryover)

- Restructure Kaep's contract: $9M in savings
- Extend Aldon Smith's contract: $7M in savings
- Extend Stevie Johnson's contract: $5M in savings
- Cut Craig Dahl from the roster: $1.7M in savings

New Cap Room: $23.4M (confirmed via Jason - AB81Rules)

--

Resign: $7M
- Perrish Cox
- Michael Wilhoite
- Blaine Gabbert
- Kyle Nelson
- Brandon Lloyd

Free Agency: $4M
- Kareem Jackson - CB - Texans (4 year deal)

Trade: $8M
49ers trade 4th round pick for Bucs Vincent Jackson - WR.

--

Draft:

*49ers trade 1st round pick for 2nd and 3rd round picks.
*Trade 2nd and 5th to move up in 2nd round*

R2: Lorenzo Maudlin - DE/OLB - Louisville (via trade down)

R2: Ameer Abdullah - RB - Nebraska (via trade up)

R3: Carl Davis - DT/DE - Iowa

R3: Corey Robinson - OT/OG - South Carolina (via trade down)

R4: Kyshoen Jarrett - S - Virginia Tech (comp)

R6: Taylor Kelly - QB - Arizona State

R7: Miles Dieffenbach - OG - Penn State

Returning from IR/PUP:

Acker and Reaser - CB
Millard and Celek - TE
Ramsey and Dorsey - DL

--

Depth Chart:

QB: Kaepernick/Gabbert
RB: Hyde/Abdullah*/Lattimore
FB: Miller
TE: Davis/Carrier/Millard

WR: Jackson*/Patton
WR: Boldin/Ellington
WR: Johnson/Lloyd

LT: Staley/Robinson*
LG: Looney/Thomas
C: Martin/Kilgore
RG: Boone
RT: Davis/Martin

LE: McDonald/Davis*
NT: Dorsey/Williams
RE: Smith/Dial/Carradine

OLB: Smith/Lynch
ILB: Willis/Borland/Moody
ILB: Bowman/Wilhoite
OLB: Brooks/Maudlin*

CB: Brock/Cox/Reaser
CB: Martin*/Johnson
FS: Reid/Ward
SS: Bethea/Jarrett*/McCray

ST: Dawson, Lee, Nelson

I'm going to say first off, I really love this plan. There isn't much to disagree with on principle. Extending Stevie Johnson is a wise move simply to lock him up longer and lower his cap figure. The guy has been a baller just about all of his career. He gets more money thrown his way and some security into his early 30s. In terms of a trade, is Vincent Jackson really available? I've only heard the rumors on this board. I don't watch much sports related TV unless it's actual games now. How many years are left on Jackson's contract and why do the Bucs want to trade him? He is a little older, but can step into the void that Boldin will leave after the 2015 season (IF Jackson is under contract for that time). If Jackson is anything close to what he has been the past few seasons, then we also can seemingly bypass using a high pick on a receiver seeing as how we'd have Jackson, Johnson, Boldin, Ellington, and Patton under contract in 2015. Lloyd would be a welcomed addition if he still wants to play. I expect our passing game to look a lot better in 2015 because I think by then, the coaches will figure out how to best utilize it without sacrificing the run.

In terms of your decision to move down in the draft, I'm not that familiar with who's going where just yet, but I'm guessing you believe there is more value/impact added to the team with the extra second and third as opposed to adding one late first round pick? Losing Aldon Smith has alerted us to the fact that we have NO pass rushers. We're not a good pass rushing team. We are basically a one trick money. I think we need to add another guy to the mix. But it can't just be anyone. I prefer someone that is special and can flat out dominate in a one on one matchup. I'd prefer staying put at the end of the first or trying to make a move up in the draft, similar to the move we made to draft Eric Reid (though that may be unrealistic because the Cowboys could've asked for more compensation) for a DE. It may not be as much of a need in 2015 as it appears to be now, but with so many unknowns (Carradine and Dial), I'm not exactly sure what we have at this point. Perhaps if they both played more as the season progresses, the need for another DE won't appear as great, but as of now, all we have is 35 year old Justin Smith.

Since you are interested in Ameer Abdullah, it seems you want more of a homerun threat at running back as well. With Lattimore, Hyde, and Hunter, do you think we should be trading up for a running back, of all positions? Of course none of those guys is guaranteed, but still, it seems we have a glut of guys again, not to mention Bruce Miller and Trey Millard who will carry the ball occasionally. I want to add a speed back, but would rather wait until later. I think the top half of our draft should be focused on acquiring guys to add to our front 7. Considering how well our secondary has played, I shudder to think how much better they could be with a decent pass rush.

I noticed the absence of Vance McDonald. Outside of taking a running back, this is my only other disagreement. The guy may not be what we need him to be now, but the talent is there and he's a great blocker. I'm not sure what it's going to take to get him to snap out of it, but he can be a weapon in this passing game. I was hoping for more of a Jason Whitten, surehanded type of guy, but McDonald is going to be more of a big play type of TE which is ok by me for now. I'm hoping he gets more attempts per game, and perhaps we'll see more of that ability come out. If not, then we have a damn good blocker in the run game until someone can come in and do it better.

I especially like the Kyshoen Jarrett pick.

Thanks for the great response LifelongNiner. Let me address your questions/concerns.

- V. Jackson has 2 years left on his deal and multiple outlets have reported him being on the trading block. They are a team that isn't going anywhere and he has a $10m cap figure. Get something for him and start the rebuild.

- This draft is deep at DL and OLB/pass rusher. Unless there is a can't miss prospect, there isn't a need to actually trade up in the draft. Lynch has made an impact, but he was a 5th round pick. We found McDonald in the 3rd round. So there are multiple ways to add good talent to our roster instead of sacrificing multiple picks for 1 guy.

In an interview, Baalke mentioned something along the lines of the rules of probability. You aren't going to hit on everyone, but the more picks you select, the better the chances are that you will find a playmaker.

Read up on Maudlin and Davis, and tell me what you think.

I also think we don't go DL heavy in FA or the draft because Baalke forces Fangio's hand in getting more time for Dial and Carradine.

- We definitely lack a home run threat in the backfield, and frankly there is no reason to bank on Lattimore as a significant contributor to our offense next year. And Ellington should focus on WR - he could be our Randell Cobb!

Hyde is a power back, Lattimore is well rounded, Miller is a short yard line guy, and now Abdullah is our home run threat. But what makes him different than Lamichael James is blitz pickup and pass blocking. He is good at other aspects of the game.

- I look at Millard as a Delanie Walker player, not a FB/RB. Similar bulk and height, Millard can become a dangerous weapon for us at TE. And he can be moved around and utilized in different packages. So while I don't think McDonald will be on the team next year, I think Carrier and Millard can hold their own. We may keep Celek as well.

I could be wrong about McDonald and hope he proves me wrong, but he seems to have bad karma since being drafted by the 49ers.

Originally posted by GEEK:
Thanks for the great response LifelongNiner. Let me address your questions/concerns.

- V. Jackson has 2 years left on his deal and multiple outlets have reported him being on the trading block. They are a team that isn't going anywhere and he has a $10m cap figure. Get something for him and start the rebuild.

- This draft is deep at DL and OLB/pass rusher. Unless there is a can't miss prospect, there isn't a need to actually trade up in the draft. Lynch has made an impact, but he was a 5th round pick. We found McDonald in the 3rd round. So there are multiple ways to add good talent to our roster instead of sacrificing multiple picks for 1 guy.

In an interview, Baalke mentioned something along the lines of the rules of probability. You aren't going to hit on everyone, but the more picks you select, the better the chances are that you will find a playmaker.

Read up on Maudlin and Davis, and tell me what you think.

I also think we don't go DL heavy in FA or the draft because Baalke forces Fangio's hand in getting more time for Dial and Carradine.

- We definitely lack a home run threat in the backfield, and frankly there is no reason to bank on Lattimore as a significant contributor to our offense next year. And Ellington should focus on WR - he could be our Randell Cobb!

Hyde is a power back, Lattimore is well rounded, Miller is a short yard line guy, and now Abdullah is our home run threat. But what makes him different than Lamichael James is blitz pickup and pass blocking. He is good at other aspects of the game.

- I look at Millard as a Delanie Walker player, not a FB/RB. Similar bulk and height, Millard can become a dangerous weapon for us at TE. And he can be moved around and utilized in different packages. So while I don't think McDonald will be on the team next year, I think Carrier and Millard can hold their own. We may keep Celek as well.

I could be wrong about McDonald and hope he proves me wrong, but he seems to have bad karma since being drafted by the 49ers.

1) Knowing that it's only two years, I'm perfectly okay. I don't like the cap number, but it's only two years for a guy who is clearly in the upper echelon of what I consider the second group of receivers (the class of guys behind AJ Green and Calvin Johnson). It also frees us from having to use a top pick on a receiver. The addition of Jackson may conceivably free us from having to draft a receiver at all.

2) I will definitely look into Mauldin and Davis and I like the idea of Baalke forcing Fangios hand. I have a very hard time believing that Carradine is so bad that he can't even contribute on obvious passing downs or against pass happy offenses. I'm hoping that we let Dobbs and possibly TJE walk in free agency. A lineup of McDonald, Dorsey, Smith, Dial, Williams, Carradine, maybe TJE and a rookie seems fair. We also know that at minimum, Dial or Carradine have to get some playing time in 2015.

3) I am 100% with you on Ellington. I think he can give a lot more than what he's had the opportunity to do so far in this offense. Kap is still growing in this mulitple receiver offense. In time, he will learn to look for Ellington who is likely to receiver very little attention considering the other receivers he's playing with. Going to Bruce Ellington will be an easy first down until he begins to show up on defensive coordinator's radar. He needs to get on Roman and Kap's radar first however.

4) Considering how you view Millard, that would make Vance McDonald expendable, but you do have one open spot on this roster, and I think McDonald can take it. He's a better blocker than Celek and Carrier is a better receiver. McDonald is just going to need multiple opportunities (3 or 4 would be sufficient) a game to get his shot. You won't get over having bad hands by getting one pass attempt per game. I think this guy can really move the ball, especially considering he is likely to be relatively open anytime he is there. He's also the perfect person for Kap to work on those touch passes with lol.

5) Abdullah is everything you said he is. I just was hoping we didn't have to use such a high pick on a running back. But I made an assumption about your original post. I just saw that you left off Kendall Hunter. If we don't resign Hunter, then yes, Abdullah is the perfect replacement. I think the only reason to let Hunter walk is because we don't want to invest so much in a guy that won't carry the ball much.