The San Francisco 49ers are coming off a disappointing Super Bowl defeat against the Kansas City Chiefs, but they still boast one of the NFL's best rosters, led by promising young quarterback Brock Purdy.
Following free agency and the NFL Draft, general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan may believe the 49ers are better today than they were a few months ago. However, Pro Football Focus analyst Trevor Sikkema would disagree.
While handing out offseason grades for all 32 teams, Sikkema sees a little improvement for the 49ers.
"The Niners didn't make a huge splash in free agency but signed some core players in Leonard Floyd, Yetur Gross-Matos and Jordan Elliott," Sikkema explained after handing out a "C+" grade to the team. "They lost Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw from their defensive line but have the aforementioned new bodies to try to make up for it."
In defense of the 49ers, Kinlaw's performance fell short of expectations since being drafted 14th overall in 2020. He finished last season among the lowest-graded defenders on the team.
While Armstead has proven himself an impactful player while on the football field, injury concerns prompted the 49ers to try to lower his salary. When negotiations failed, the team chose to part ways with the veteran.
However, Sikkema points to the offensive side of the roster to further explain why the 49ers' offseason efforts underwhelmed him.
The analyst wrote, "Ultimately, San Francisco needs better offensive line play in 2024, and the only significant addition the team made there was third-round pick Dominick Puni. It doesn't feel like San Francisco got better this offseason."
The 49ers seek to return to the Super Bowl and emerge victorious. Only time will tell if their offseason roster adjustments were sufficient to realize their aspirations.
