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The 49ers should be contenders in the NFC this season. That won’t be thanks to their work this offseason according to Pro Football Focus’ offseason grades.
PFF’s Sam Monson issued a ‘C’ for San Francisco’s moves in free agency and the draft, but the middle-of-the-road mark lands with a thud considering Javon Hargrave is the only thing keeping it buoyed as a passing grade. Via Monson:
The addition of Javon Hargrave to an already dominant defense is the only thing saving this from a very bad offseason grade. Hargrave accounted for 57 total pressures last season for the Eagles, more than double any 49ers interior lineman. Clelin Ferrell is a far more quietly solid addition to the defensive front, and Sam Darnold could easily end up starting at quarterback if Brock Purdy’s elbow doesn’t heal quickly enough.
In the draft, it’s difficult to argue that anything the 49ers did was the result of good process. They reached relative to the PFF and consensus big boards at most picks and drafted a kicker in the third round.
Yikes!
While the team’s moves are panned here, it’s hard to come up with a scenario where they could’ve done a lot more this offseason.
Hargrave was a significant splash in free agency, and they added some depth along with presumed starting nickel cornerback Isaiah Oliver. That’s not bad considering their lack of flexibility against the cap.
In the draft they were handcuffed by their draft capital. They didn’t own a pick until No. 99, but they made their first selection at No. 87 overall when they snagged Penn State safety Ji’Ayir Brown.
Grading a team based on their draft is nigh impossible. The 49ers reached per draft boards on the internet, but if they wind up finding two starters out of their nine picks it’s unlikely that this year’s draft dooms them in the short or the long term.
All that said, it’s hard to argue with an average grade for the 49ers at this point. They’re about as good as they were last year, which is fine, but a lateral move isn’t going to alter the needle much in offseason prognostication while other teams got better on paper.
The good news for the 49ers is Super Bowls aren’t won in March, or April, or May. They just need to ensure they’re better once the games count, and they’ve done a good job of that over the last four years.
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