CBS Sports recently listed the San Francisco 49ers as having the fourth-best offseason in the NFL. Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports recently gave the team a C- when grading its offseason moves.
Rich Eisen of NBC Sports believes general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan did a lot better. In fact, he feels the 49ers had the best offseason in the NFL.
Schwab's grade dumbfounded Eisen as he jokingly wondered if the writer was a cousin of Charles Schwab. Chris Brockman didn't agree that Eisen should even consider the 49ers.
"The 49ers did not have a good offseason," Brockman told Eisen, basing his opinion on the Schwab grades and analysis. "Yeah, they didn't acquire anyone."
That's when Eisen decided to make his case for San Francisco and explained why he believes Shanahan's squad should be at the top of everyone's list.
#VoiceofREason –> Who's won the #NFL offseason thus far? @richeisen says it's hands down _______: pic.twitter.com/HjVlqMO9VD
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) June 26, 2020
Eisen started his argument by noting that San Francisco was just in the Super Bowl, so clearly, its roster was already pretty good. Unlike some of the bad teams in the NFL, massive moves aren't necessary when you are already among the best.
"What you do is you tweak, and you get smart," Eisen told Brockman on The Rich Eisen Show (h/t to Brian Witt of NBC Sports Bay Area), "and you use your opportunity that is available to you, cap and draft-wise."
Eisen then shared a list of reasons why the 49ers had a better offseason than a team like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. San Francisco couldn't afford everyone along the defensive line, so it traded DeForest Buckner for a first-round pick and drafted Javon Kinlaw, who is younger and more cost-effective.
"It's not a lateral move when you can't keep them all," Eisen explained. "It's not. How many cap-hamstrung teams figure out late that they don't have the people to win? ... It's called managing your team, and your roster, and your cap."
Eisen pointed out that the 49ers also brought back defensive lineman Arik Armstead, the team's sack leader from last season, and safety Jimmie Ward. Oh, and Pro Bowl offensive tackle Joe Staley retired. What did Lynch and Shanahan do? They replaced him with another Pro Bowl offensive tackle in Trent Williams, who is four years younger.
"The Rams head coach, Sean McVay, was just basically flat-out saying, 'Where the hell did that come from?'" said Eisen. "The whole league needs Trent Williams. Who got him? The defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers, that's who got him."
As for Emmanuel Sanders leaving for the New Orleans Saints, Eisen points out that the wide receiver is 32 years old. Like the Buckner move, the 49ers used the draft to get younger there, too, and at a better price point with the selection of Brandon Aiyuk.
"Now the only issue with this offseason is Deebo Samuel hurt himself," Eisen admits. "We're assuming he's going to be back.
"But they get younger, they get better, they rearrange their cap properly, and on top of it all, they didn't lose anybody from their staff, which normally happens to any team that goes to the Super Bowl. They didn't lose anybody from their staff, and they signed their coach to a multi-year extension.
"I understand Arizona gets DeAndre Hopkins. I know what Buffalo did to get Stefon Diggs. And I understand why you would put Miami on that list, because of what they did in free agency. And whoever else you put there. But none of those teams were in the Super Bowl, rearranged for the future, got smarter, and kept the people they need to keep more than the San Francisco 49ers."