Grade the 49ers Free Agenncy Moves (excluding Jimmy G)

Sherman B+ We weren't going to find another corner that fits our scheme better. The injury is the only reason it's not an A.

Richburg A Found our Center of the future that's entering his prime. Great fit for the ZBS.

Mckinnon C His pass catching ability will be valuable but I'm skeptical about everything else. Maybe he has some untapped potential and he'll surprise me.

Originally posted by Polkadots:

Originally posted by BoldRedandGold:

Sherman A
Richburg A
McKinnon C- and that's assuming breida, mostert, or a rookie pans out and can actually run the ball.

If it turns out we have to actually rely on McKinnon to move the ball up the gut he will get exposed and teams will find ways to shut down the passing game. Then I will change my grade to a D because we actually created a hole instead of filling one.

Cutting Dumervil definitely didn't help us in the pass rushing department and probably was a step back. Until we replace him that gets a D-

How did they create a hole? Hyde was an average back, while being below average both catching the ball and pass blocking...and he had a fair few injuries.

I get not liking the signing, but it didn't create a hole. Fair point it may not fill the hole, but that's seemingly the worst-case scenario

They created a hole because even if you didn't like hyde he still kept defenses honest whether he was most effective for the scheme or not. He kept the team from becoming one dimensional.

If you can't actually grind out 3 yard runs consistently because your back can't run up the middle then you have a problem. Teams can just key up the pass rush.

I have doubts because mckinnon by himself hasn't demonstrated an ability to keep teams honest with runs up the middle. This is why he's always played second fiddle to another back.

I get how he fit's the scheme better because he can catch better and pass protect better. I worry that theres now a hole because there's no back to wear down defenses and grind the tough runs.

The signing of mckinnon itself didn't create the hole the letting go of hyde did. This would have been acceptable if they had found a replacement like lewis or crowell who can make the runs mckinnon cant. The worrying part is they paid mckinnon like he's a complete back but has never demonstrated an ability to be that.

Originally posted by BoldRedandGold:

They created a hole because even if you didn't like hyde he still kept defenses honest whether he was most effective for the scheme or not. He kept the team from becoming one dimensional.

If you can't actually grind out 3 yard runs consistently because your back can't run up the middle then you have a problem. Teams can just key up the pass rush.

I have doubts because mckinnon by himself hasn't demonstrated an ability to keep teams honest with runs up the middle. This is why he's always played second fiddle to another back.

I get how he fit's the scheme better because he can catch better and pass protect better. I worry that theres now a hole because there's no back to wear down defenses and grind the tough runs.

Meh, they key up the pass rush we key up some screens. The defense will be wore down in a different style than bruising because all of our backs is fast as hell and can gain chunk yards or take it to the house on any givin play. They gon be tired bro no worries

C+

Richburg and Sherman have potential to become great players here but they carry risks.
McKinnon got grossly overpaid.

However, if they can land Sitton, I would give this offseason a B+.

Originally posted by pdizo916:

C+

Richburg and Sherman have potential to become great players here but they carry risks.
McKinnon got grossly overpaid.

However, if they can land Sitton, I would give this offseason a B+.

The whole offseason?

The draft is arguably the biggest part of the entire offseason...

Also, if we get one of Vinny Curry, Kendricks, Sitton, Nelson or Pryor for a reasonable contract, I'll bump my grade up to a B+, not that anyone cares lol

Originally posted by BoldRedandGold:

Originally posted by Polkadots:

Originally posted by BoldRedandGold:

Sherman A
Richburg A
McKinnon C- and that's assuming breida, mostert, or a rookie pans out and can actually run the ball.

If it turns out we have to actually rely on McKinnon to move the ball up the gut he will get exposed and teams will find ways to shut down the passing game. Then I will change my grade to a D because we actually created a hole instead of filling one.

Cutting Dumervil definitely didn't help us in the pass rushing department and probably was a step back. Until we replace him that gets a D-

How did they create a hole? Hyde was an average back, while being below average both catching the ball and pass blocking...and he had a fair few injuries.

I get not liking the signing, but it didn't create a hole. Fair point it may not fill the hole, but that's seemingly the worst-case scenario

They created a hole because even if you didn't like hyde he still kept defenses honest whether he was most effective for the scheme or not. He kept the team from becoming one dimensional.

If you can't actually grind out 3 yard runs consistently because your back can't run up the middle then you have a problem. Teams can just key up the pass rush.

I have doubts because mckinnon by himself hasn't demonstrated an ability to keep teams honest with runs up the middle. This is why he's always played second fiddle to another back.

I get how he fit's the scheme better because he can catch better and pass protect better. I worry that theres now a hole because there's no back to wear down defenses and grind the tough runs.

The signing of mckinnon itself didn't create the hole the letting go of hyde did. This would have been acceptable if they had found a replacement like lewis or crowell who can make the runs mckinnon cant. The worrying part is they paid mckinnon like he's a complete back but has never demonstrated an ability to be that.

Preach!

I agree with all that on McKinnon.

Also, Sherman is not a slam dunk to me. Yes, he has been one of the most dominant DBs in the league. But last year before his injuries there was already talk that teams were no longer afraid to throw on him. That his status as a "shut down corner" had come to an end. That doesn't mean he wasn't still decent, but I'm concerned that already declining play plus the injury might mean we haven't solved our CB issue. I hope he goes back to playing like his old self. And I'm sure he will be a good mentor for younger players. But I think we're all being hasty in assuming we hired the a top shelf shut down corner.

Sherman - A. pretty much zero risk, all reward. even if he is at 40% of what he used to be, he'll be a steal. if he's shot, we lose nothing except time
Richburg- A-. never liked Kilgore's game that much. This covers Center and Guard in a pinch. I hope Beadles is gone.
McKinnon - D too much money for questionable game, even if he fits the offense. the previous two signings were great (Sherm) and good (Richburg) in terms of risk/reward and money. this one is not.

overall: B

Richburg A
Sherman C
McKinnon F-
Lack of getting a true #1 receiver F-----

Overall D

B

-A really good corner if he can bounce back from injury
-A starting center
-A speed back who can catch and play special teams

Now get Sitton!

A trade for Brandon Graham would be the cherry on top.

B-

Sherman is a maybe.
Richburg good but injury is concern
Mck ok.
Needed pass rush why cut dumervil keep ward. No sense there. Too bad we couldnt get murphy.

Sherman - B+. Not sure about achilles. Might be a step slow. Will be an upgrade over Dontae Johnson obviously and potentially mentor Akhello.

Weston Richburg- A+. Kilgore is garbage and we needed an upgrade. He could be our Alex Mack.

McKinnon - C. You could have found a pass catching RB for cheap in the draft. Not a fan of tying up cap money to an unimportant position like RB.

Overall grade: B. They get passing marks.

If they get sitton b/b+

B. They filled most of the holes. I like all three free agent signings. Not a fan of the McKinnon contract, but when you look around the league with the FA deals, it seems par for the course. Still awaiting details to come out. It's highly likely that it's no real hit to the team. I will definitely say we will have one fast group of running backs.

Now that Trent Murphy is off the market, we may have to turn to trading for an edge rusher (Brandon Graham?). If by some chance they can pull that off and land another starting guard, this would easily be an A+++ and allows us to draft BPA without worrying about need so much in the draft.