Do it like Denver? How 49ers could follow Broncos’ blueprint

How 49ers could follow Broncos' blueprint The NFL is a copycat league, and the 49ers are in position to mimic the Super Bowl champions. Just ask 49ers general manager Trent Baalke, who reiterated his how-to-build-a-team philosophy last month. History shows there's wisdom in that approach, but the Broncos showed there's more than one way to win a title. Of Denver's 22 starters in its 24-10 win over the Panthers in Super Bowl 50, 11 were acquired via free agency, 10 were homegrown and one was acquired in a trade. Denver won the championship, thanks to its suffocating defense, and the title came with a significant price tag. Since 2014, the Broncos have signed four defensive starters in free agency and shelled out $37.25 million in fully guaranteed money at signing for that quartet (according to the website OverTheCap.com): outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware ($16.5 million guaranteed), cornerback Aqib Talib ($11.5 million) and safeties T.J. Ward ($7 million) and Darian Stewart ($2.25 million). The signings allowed the Broncos to morph from an offense-reliant team led by Peyton Manning, another big-money free agent, into a defense-dominated group that carried Manning. The Broncos went...