For the first time in three years, the San Francisco 49ers open the season with hope. Not a lot of hope, but even a little bit counts at this point. After two years of completely inept coaching, first with Jim Tomsula and then with Chip Kelly, the 49ers hired former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and that’s made all the difference.
That and letting quarterback Colin Kaepernick walk. The 49ers won just two games last year and they were both against the Jeff Fisher coached (or ruined) Los Angeles Rams. Anything is better than that, right? Right? Let’s see how new general manager John Lynch and Shanahan put this team together.
Free Agents Kept
Chris Jones, Defensive End
Jeremy Kerley, Wide Receiver
Carl Bradford, Linebacker
Free Agents/Players Gained
Matt Barkley, Quarterback, formerly of the Chicago Bears
Brock Coyle, Outside Linebacker, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks
Pierre Garcon, Wide Receiver, formerly of the Washington Redskins
Marquise Goodwin, Wide Receiver, formerly of the Buffalo Bills
Robbie Gould, Kicker, formerly of the New York Giants
Brian Hoyer, Quarterback, formerly of the Chicago Bears
Kyle Juszczyk, Fullback, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens
Logan Paulson, Tight End, formerly of the Chicago Bears
Aldrick Robinson, Wide Receiver, formerly of the Atlanta Falcons
Malcolm Smith, Outiside Linebacker, formerly of the Oakland Raiders
Elvis Dumerville, Linebacker, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens
Kapri Bibbs, Running Back, acquired in a trade with the Denver Broncos
Don Jones, Defensive Back, formerly of the Houston Texans
Jeremy Zuttah, Offensive Lineman, acquired in a trade from the Baltimore Ravens
Dekoda Watson, Linebacker, formerly of the Denver Broncos
Tim Hightower, Running Back, formerly of the New Orleans Saints
Garry Gilliam, Offensive Lineman/Tight End, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks
Tim Barnes, Center, formerly of the Los Angeles Rams
Brandon Fusco, Offensive Guard, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings
Will Davis, Cornerback, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens
Free Agents/Players Lost
Antoine Bethea, Safety, signed with the Arizona Cardinals
Phil Dawson, Kicker, signed with the Arizona Cardinals
Shaun Draughn, Running Back, signed with the New York Giants
Marcus Martin, Center, signed with the Cleveland Browns
Quinton Patton, Wide Receiver, currently a free agent
Torrey Smith, Wide Receiver, signed with the Philadelphia Eagles
Gerald Hodges, Inside Linebacker, signed with the Buffalo Bills
Colin Kaepernick, Quarterback, currently a free agent
Mike Davis, Running Back, signed with the Seattle Seahawks
Tramaine Brock, Cornerback, currently a free agent
2017 NFL Draft
Round 1: Solomon Thomas, Defensive End, Stanford
Round 1: Reuben Foster, Linebacker, Alabama
Round 3: Ahkello Witherspoon, Cornerback, Colorado
Round 3: C.J. Beathard, Quarterback, Iowa
Round 4: Joe Williams, Running Back, Utah
Round 5: George Kittle, Tight End, Iowa
Round 5: Trent Taylor, Wide Receiver, Louisiana Tech
Round 6: D.J. Jones, Defensiev Tackle, Ole Miss
Round 6: Pita Taumoepenu, Outside Linebacker, Utah
Round 7: Adrian Colbert, Defensive Back, Miami
Proposed Offensive Starters
QB: Brian Hoyer
RB: Carlos Hyde
WR: Pierre Garcon
WR: Marquise Goodwin
WR: Jeremy Kerley
TE: Vance McDonald
LT: Joe Staley
RT: Trent Brown
LG: Zane Beadles
RG: Josh Garnett
C: Jeremy Zuttah
Offensive Outlook
Nobody in the NFL was more active in free agency than the 49ers by the sheer number of signings alone. It just goes to show you how much former GM Trent Baalke let the roster deteriorate over the last few years. At quarterback, Shanahan will count on Bryan Hoyer this season and usually that doesn’t work out too well. Hoyer is fine once the season is over and his team is playing for nothing. It’s while the chips are down that Hoyer seems to always shit the bed. How much pressure is on him with this 49ers team? At first, plenty. Once October hits, not much. The problem is, if the 49ers struggle, and they will, Shanahan might want to plug rookie C.J. Beathard in and see what he’s got.
With the exception of Jeremy Kerley, this is an entirely new wide receiver crew from last season and a significantly upgraded one at that. Pierre Garcon will give Shanahan a consistent target to move the chains while Marquise Goodwin brings sprinter speed to stretch the defense. Vance McDonald is just a guy, but he’ll at least make the occasional play.
Carlos Hyde returns as the starting running back. You have to feel sorry for Hyde, a guy that’s been snakebit by injuries and being on bad teams since he entered the league in 2014. He was drafted by a team that made three straight NFC Championships. He has to feel like shit. Last year was his best season, but he was again hampered by injuries. He missed three games and that’s all that kept him from posting his first 1,000 yard season. He finished with 217 carries for 988 yards, averaging 4.6 yards a carry, to go with 27 catches for 1673 yards and three touchdowns.
Up front, the 49ers are just working in one new offensive lineman, center Jeremy Zuttah. The rest of the guys, even the remnant of the former best unit in the league, remain including Josh Garnett who took over for the final 11 games at right guard last year.
Proposed Defensive Starters
DE: Solomon Thomas
DE: Arik Armstead
DT: Earl Mitchell
DT: DeForest Buckner
OLB: Elvis Dumervil
OLB Ahmad Brooks
MLB: NaVorro Bowman
CB: Dontae Johnson
CB: Rashad Robinson
FS: Jimmie Ward
SS: Eric Reid
Defensive Outlook
New defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is converting the team to a 4-3, so this is my best approximation on what that’s going to look like. DeForest Buckner thrived as a rookie on the inside, recording a co-team leading six sacks to go with 73 tackles, two fumble recoveries and a pass defense. Arik Armstead should be back after missing most of last season with an injury and I’m plugging him in at defensive end, though he and Buckner could end up switching places. Rookie Solomon Thomas will likely be the star of this unit, regardless of how good the 49ers do in the win/loss column.
At linebacker, the team added pass rusher Elvis Dumervil who should be a fantastic blitzer opposite the underrated Ahmad Brooks. NaVorro Bowman, at middle linebacker, remains one of the best at his position in the game, but missed most of last season with injuries of his own. It’s one of the reason the Reuben Foster pick was made, but I’m not sure how they’ll use him with a healthy Bowman and a 4-3. Maybe they’ll slide him or Bowman to outside linebacker on straight downs or convert back and forth between a 3-4 and 4-3.
Jimmie Ward played corner most of last season when he was healthy, but with the departure of Antoine Bethea, he should slide right back into his natural position at free safety. Eric Reid had the same health issues as Ward last season and only played in 10 games. The team’s top corner, Tramaine Brock was cut in the off-season thanks to some legal troubles, so I’m going with Dontae Johnson and Rashard Robinson as the starting corners. Rookie Ahkello Witherspoon will play plenty in the slot and may eventually take a starting outside job.
Grade: B+
The 49ers had a solid draft and upgraded their wide receivers. Quarterback remains a problem, but, honestly, I don’t feel like this is a team that wants to win a lot of games this year. They want to move forward, but still want that high draft pick.
O/U wins: 4.5
Preseason Schedule
Week 1: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 2: Denver Broncos
Week 3: at Minnesota Vikings
Week 4: Los Angeles Chargers
Regular Season Schedule
Week 1: Carolina Panthers
Week 2: at Seattle Seahawks
Week 3: Los Angeles Rams
Key game: The 49ers swept the Rams last season and get first crack at new head coach Sean McVay’s team at home in 2017. I don’t feel like San Francisco is in any danger of an 0-16 record, but there aren’t a lot of wins on this schedule. They need to make the most of their chances.
Week 4: at Arizona Cardinals
Week 5: at Indianapolis Colts
Week 6: at Washington Redskins
Week 7: Dallas Cowboys
Week 8: at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 9: Arizona Cardinals
Week 10: New York Giants
Week 11: BYE
Week 12: Seattle Seahawks
Week 13: at Chicago Bears
Week 14: at Houston Texans
Week 15: Tennessee Titans
Week 16: Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 17: at Los Angeles Rams
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