Biggest remaining offseason priority for each NFC team: Payday coming for Justin Jefferson, Cowboys stars?

After representing the NFC in last season's Super Bowl, the San Francisco 49ers are once again poised as championship contenders for the upcoming 2024 season. The team has been to four NFC Championship Games and two Super Bowls over the past five seasons. Success begets popularity, as evidenced by the remarkable presence of six 49ers players in the NFLPA's rankings of officially

The San Francisco 49ers are excited about their offseason improvements, believing they've done enough to remain competitive and make another Super Bowl run. Of course, every NFL team is optimistic about its chances in June. They still have to go out and perform for 17 games, hoping they're competitive enough to earn a playoff spot. General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan would prefer the NFL Draft take place before free agency, allowing the team to add rookie contributors first and then spend money to fill remaining needs. Unfortunately, free agency comes first, necessitating teams to consider the depth of specific positions in the draft while not knowing who they might acquire and trying to fill any potential gaps ahead of time. The 49ers had to

Brock Purdy's last full offseason came as a rookie in 2022. However, calling it a "full offseason" is misleading. He was buried on the San Francisco 49ers' depth chart, limiting his practice reps. Despite this, Purdy showed enough promise to earn a spot on the 53-man roster. Just months later, he took over the starting quarterback job and hasn't relinquished it since. Last offseason was crucial for Purdy's development. Unfortunately, he was recovering from surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow. Purdy didn't get to throw to teammates until training camp, leaving some uncertainty about his effectiveness following such a significant injury. Purdy finished last season with a single-season franchise-record 4,280 passing yards,

Never say never. It appears the San Francisco 49ers will enter the 2024 season with both Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel on the roster, assuming contract negotiations with Aiyuk proceed smoothly. Neither wide receiver was traded before or during the draft, making it unlikely either will be dealt before the season. However, in the unpredictable world of the NFL, nothing is certain. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated believes there's still a scenario where a team could pry Samuel from San Francisco's grip. Breer argues that the 49ers have been dealing with a bottleneck of contracts, having handed out large deals to tight end George Kittle, linebacker Fred Warner, wide receiver Deebo Samuel, and defensive end Nick Bosa. This year, they signed Christian McCaffrey to a