Which needs should the 49ers adress in FA this off season??

i would say guard and if possible a young proven tackle(no likely at all) but if we do get both of those in FA then our line is set going into the draft and would allow us to play with our picks maybe we can afford to trade up for berry and we can also get spiller

I dont think the Niners are going to do much in the offseason FA market given an uncapped year.

Safety and Pass Rusher


With guys like Rian Clark, Atogwe & Rhodes available at the Safety position.

Then you have Merrimen and possibly Peppers available at OLB. To go with Derrick Burgess, Jason Taylor, Adewale Ogunleye


This will allow us to focus primarily on the offensive side of the ball in the draft.

Originally posted by krizay:
Safety and Pass Rusher


With guys like Rian Clark, Atogwe & Rhodes available at the Safety position.

Then you have Merrimen and possibly Peppers available at OLB. To go with Derrick Burgess, Jason Taylor, Adewale Ogunleye


This will allow us to focus primarily on the offensive side of the ball in the draft.

Sounds good to me. Add an impact Defensive Guy in Free Agency and go Offense with the first 3 picks we got.

Originally posted by krizay:
Safety and Pass Rusher


With guys like Rian Clark, Atogwe & Rhodes available at the Safety position.

Then you have Merrimen and possibly Peppers available at OLB. To go with Derrick Burgess, Jason Taylor, Adewale Ogunleye


This will allow us to focus primarily on the offensive side of the ball in the draft.

Clark is a FA. Atowge is RFA. Rhodes is RFA.

Merriman and Peppers will be too rich for the Niners--no way they pay either of them what they want. Taylor won't leave Miami--he'll retire first. I'm not sure how Derrick Burgess would be an upgrade--he only started 6 games for a weak Patriots defense. Ogunleye only recorded 38 tackles, no sacks, no FF, no PD, and no INTs this year. He's not an improvement over Lawson or Haralson.

We might go after Rhodes but I really doubt it. McCloughan's philosophy is to build through the draft rather than FA. Rhodes will also be highly sought after which will inflate his asking price beyond his value.

I can't see us going after any of these people in FA.

Get an experienced OG? Then we can get a RT in the draft and have a lot of freedom with that second 1st.

The lack of a new CBA may kill 90% of the FA market this off-season. Any player will less than 6 years of NFL service will be an RFA, requiring compensation by the signing team, unless they are an outright cut from their current team.

I expect that most of the FA's this year will be worn-down old-timers (as always) and a few big name salary dumps (Peppers, Adalius Thomas, etc).

That being said, the Niners are REALLY thin at FS and SS. It seems unreasonable for a rookie to be a factor at either position, which requires lots of experience and trust. I don't see Lewis (concussions) playing the entire season. He might not even make it through the pre-season. And at FS, after Goldson, there is who? Roman (age 33) is the only other safety that the coaches can trust, and that's not enough depth to take into TC.

Reggie Smith has shown nothing and Curtis Taylor is still very raw. I will be very surprised if the club does not sign a veteran safety, one who is younger and with more speed than Lewis. Might be a guy age 28 or more, given that 6 years of NFL experience will be required for a player to be a UDFA.

I think that there is a lot of OG talent on the roster and PS, and look forward to the new OL tandem of Solari/Brown making that evident. I don't see ther need to buy experience (and trust) at OG, as much as I do at SS/FS.

P.S. Someone earlier in this thread mentioned Will Allen of TB. Allen has completed 6 years of NFL service and will be 28 years old for the 2010 season. TB isn't going to win any time soon, so Allen might well be eager to leave. He finished the 2009 season on IR after playing about 8 games, after playing nearly every game in the preceeding 5 years. I don't know the extent of his injury, but if he is cleared by the medical people, this might be a player to keep an eye on. Neither Rolle nor Rhodes has completed 6 years of NFL service, so they will not be UDFA's.