Juszczyk: Kyle Shanahan doesn’t care about public perception when it comes to his roster

Many within the media believe the San Francisco 49ers overspent on a few players. The team made fullback Kyle Juszczyk the highest-paid player at his position after signing him last offseason. In fact, his average salary is more than double that of any other fullback in the league.

Jerick McKinnon is currently the sixth-highest paid running back in the league. His average salary of $7.5 million is viewed by some as too significant an investment in a player who has just 14 regular-season starts over his four-year career.

Public perception means nothing to head coach Kyle Shanahan, who is more interested in identifying and acquiring the right kind of talent for his team.

"I think Kyle knows what he's looking for," Juszczyk said on Tuesday. "I think you see that in a lot of places on the field. You see that where last year I think our biggest receiver was Kendrick Bourne. Outside of that, he didn't worry about getting that big 6-5 guy.

"You see that in free agency where Jerick McKinnon, before he was signed, no one expected him to get the kind of deal he did but Kyle knew exactly what he was looking for. He doesn't shy away because maybe that's not the perceived best thing people are looking for. I don't think Kyle concerns himself with that. He knows what he needs, and I feel he goes out there and does it confidently."

The 49ers have certainly been active since Shanahan and general manager John Lynch took over last year. Just 13 players remain from the 2016 season, and that number will probably further shrink before the start of the regular season.