2025 OFFSEASON

[Samurai]

Drake Jackson posted on Instagram that he's coming back and going to prove all the haters wrong. I would absolutely love to see that happen. Not holding my breath, but if he could provide any impact at all as a primary pass-rushing DE, it would be huge for this team.

LOL, that didn't age well. The 49ers just waived Jackson.

In addition to waiving Jackson, they also waived OL Jalen McKenzie and CB Tre Tomlinson. They then signed two OT's, Andre Dillard and Nicholas Petit-Frere and CB Dallis Flowers. Petit-Frere is 6-5, 316 pounds and a 3rd round draft pick in 2022. Petit-Frere allowed 11 sacks with the worst blown block percentage last season with the Titans. He had a dismal overall PFF grade of 46.5 last year (42.8 pass block and 55.9 run block). Dillard is 6-5, 315 pounds and was a first round pick (22nd overall) for the Eagles in 2019. He had an overall PFF grade of 72.7 (75.0 pass block and 72.7 run block) but on a very small sample size of only 13 snaps for the Packers. He started 10 games for the Titans in 2023 and gave up 10 sacks. At least they will represent bodies to compete with McKivitz in camp but hard to picture either one as someone who can take over as a starting OT.

[Pattersonca65]

Drake Jackson posted on Instagram that he's coming back and going to prove all the haters wrong. I would absolutely love to see that happen. Not holding my breath, but if he could provide any impact at all as a primary pass-rushing DE, it would be huge for this team.

LOL, that didn't age well. The 49ers just waived Jackson.

In addition to waiving Jackson, they also waived OL Jalen McKenzie and CB Tre Tomlinson. They then signed two OT's, Andre Dillard and Nicholas Petit-Frere and CB Dallis Flowers. Petit-Frere is 6-5, 316 pounds and a 3rd round draft pick in 2022. Petit-Frere allowed 11 sacks with the worst blown block percentage last season with the Titans. He had a dismal overall PFF grade of 46.5 last year (42.8 pass block and 55.9 run block). Dillard is 6-5, 315 pounds and was a first round pick (22nd overall) for the Eagles in 2019. He had an overall PFF grade of 72.7 (75.0 pass block and 72.7 run block) but on a very small sample size of only 13 snaps for the Packers. He started 10 games for the Titans in 2023 and gave up 10 sacks. At least they will represent bodies to compete with McKivitz in camp but hard to picture either one as someone who can take over as a starting OT.

OT is a premium position in the NFL. Any OT who is even halfway decent is signed by now. So anyone unsigned is most like not good. Might as well give them an opportunity to see if they can salvage their careers. Doesn't cost much

[Jikkle]

Drake Jackson posted on Instagram that he's coming back and going to prove all the haters wrong. I would absolutely love to see that happen. Not holding my breath, but if he could provide any impact at all as a primary pass-rushing DE, it would be huge for this team.

LOL, that didn't age well. The 49ers just waived Jackson.

In addition to waiving Jackson, they also waived OL Jalen McKenzie and CB Tre Tomlinson. They then signed two OT's, Andre Dillard and Nicholas Petit-Frere and CB Dallis Flowers. Petit-Frere is 6-5, 316 pounds and a 3rd round draft pick in 2022. Petit-Frere allowed 11 sacks with the worst blown block percentage last season with the Titans. He had a dismal overall PFF grade of 46.5 last year (42.8 pass block and 55.9 run block). Dillard is 6-5, 315 pounds and was a first round pick (22nd overall) for the Eagles in 2019. He had an overall PFF grade of 72.7 (75.0 pass block and 72.7 run block) but on a very small sample size of only 13 snaps for the Packers. He started 10 games for the Titans in 2023 and gave up 10 sacks. At least they will represent bodies to compete with McKivitz in camp but hard to picture either one as someone who can take over as a starting OT.

Dillard is at least a former 1st round pick and did have a pretty good RAS score.

Obviously if you've been in the league since 2019 on multiple teams it's unlikely he'll blossom into a stud but while I won't say this team turns trash into treasure they do at least maximize a guy's agility to get to the 2nd level.

[Pattersonca65]

LOL, that didn't age well. The 49ers just waived Jackson.

In addition to waiving Jackson, they also waived OL Jalen McKenzie and CB Tre Tomlinson. They then signed two OT's, Andre Dillard and Nicholas Petit-Frere and CB Dallis Flowers. Petit-Frere is 6-5, 316 pounds and a 3rd round draft pick in 2022. Petit-Frere allowed 11 sacks with the worst blown block percentage last season with the Titans. He had a dismal overall PFF grade of 46.5 last year (42.8 pass block and 55.9 run block). Dillard is 6-5, 315 pounds and was a first round pick (22nd overall) for the Eagles in 2019. He had an overall PFF grade of 72.7 (75.0 pass block and 72.7 run block) but on a very small sample size of only 13 snaps for the Packers. He started 10 games for the Titans in 2023 and gave up 10 sacks. At least they will represent bodies to compete with McKivitz in camp but hard to picture either one as someone who can take over as a starting OT.

Dillard is at least a former 1st round pick and did have a pretty good RAS score.

Obviously if you've been in the league since 2019 on multiple teams it's unlikely he'll blossom into a stud but while I won't say this team turns trash into treasure they do at least maximize a guy's agility to get to the 2nd level.

Even with the shortage of good OTs in the league and decent OL getting big bucks in FA, these guys are floating around which kind of says how bad they are. Our current OL coach is the same one who coached Dewey, Martin, and Pears back in 2015 which was one of the worst lines ever on this right side so he isn't a miracle worker. But they don't have anything to lose to bringing them in for a tryout so might as well kick the tires. I have no expectations

[CrimsonCrew]

I recall liking Dillard coming out, but there may not be a team as good at identifying OL talent as the Eagles, and they sure weren't sold on him after having him in the building. The Packers have also done a nice job finding contributing OL, and they let him walk rather than sign him as cheap depth. Not holding my breath.

If our starters go down at OT, it could get ugly fast, but at least we have some experienced depth now. That said, I simply cannot understand the logic in not at least taking a few dart throws on the position either in the draft or at the very least UDFA. Let's see if we can find another McKivitz.

[Pattersonca65]

I recall liking Dillard coming out, but there may not be a team as good at identifying OL talent as the Eagles, and they sure weren't sold on him after having him in the building. The Packers have also done a nice job finding contributing OL, and they let him walk rather than sign him as cheap depth. Not holding my breath.

If our starters go down at OT, it could get ugly fast, but at least we have some experienced depth now. That said, I simply cannot understand the logic in not at least taking a few dart throws on the position either in the draft or at the very least UDFA. Let's see if we can find another McKivitz.

LOL, our current regime doesn't throw darts, they stick to their draft list all the way through regardless of need.

[CrimsonCrew]

I recall liking Dillard coming out, but there may not be a team as good at identifying OL talent as the Eagles, and they sure weren't sold on him after having him in the building. The Packers have also done a nice job finding contributing OL, and they let him walk rather than sign him as cheap depth. Not holding my breath.

If our starters go down at OT, it could get ugly fast, but at least we have some experienced depth now. That said, I simply cannot understand the logic in not at least taking a few dart throws on the position either in the draft or at the very least UDFA. Let's see if we can find another McKivitz.

LOL, our current regime doesn't throw darts, they stick to their draft list all the way through regardless of need.

Every draft pick is a dart throw.

As I've said previously, I can understand not taking an OT in the first several rounds of the draft. The board fell about as badly as it could have. Though it doesn't help that they went into the draft with such obvious needs. I cannot understand at all their failure to add even a single UDFA at the OT position.

[Pattersonca65]

I recall liking Dillard coming out, but there may not be a team as good at identifying OL talent as the Eagles, and they sure weren't sold on him after having him in the building. The Packers have also done a nice job finding contributing OL, and they let him walk rather than sign him as cheap depth. Not holding my breath.

If our starters go down at OT, it could get ugly fast, but at least we have some experienced depth now. That said, I simply cannot understand the logic in not at least taking a few dart throws on the position either in the draft or at the very least UDFA. Let's see if we can find another McKivitz.

LOL, our current regime doesn't throw darts, they stick to their draft list all the way through regardless of need.

Every draft pick is a dart throw.

As I've said previously, I can understand not taking an OT in the first several rounds of the draft. The board fell about as badly as it could have. Though it doesn't help that they went into the draft with such obvious needs. I cannot understand at all their failure to add even a single UDFA at the OT position.

Sure they are all a dart throw but this FO doesn't seem to move away from their list of preferred players. The OTs they had in mind didn't fall to them so they passed on others who weren't on their list of OTs

[CrimsonCrew]

LOL, our current regime doesn't throw darts, they stick to their draft list all the way through regardless of need.

Every draft pick is a dart throw.

As I've said previously, I can understand not taking an OT in the first several rounds of the draft. The board fell about as badly as it could have. Though it doesn't help that they went into the draft with such obvious needs. I cannot understand at all their failure to add even a single UDFA at the OT position.

Sure they are all a dart throw but this FO doesn't seem to move away from their list of preferred players. The OTs they had in mind didn't fall to them so they passed on others who weren't on their list of OTs

Yeah, this FO more than most seems to have "their guys," and they will either move up overly aggressively to get that one player or if they miss on that guy will look to another position.

As a general proposition, I don't have a huge problem with that. It should mean you're taking the higher-ranked player on your board most of the time, though I also think they look for specific positions regardless of overall value (see the third round this year).

In terms of OL, the team seems to be reaching a point where they'll probably just have to reach for one at some point. But this year, there wasn't a viable option at 11, Ersery was the only possibility and something of a reach at 43, there wasn't a good option at 75, Rogers and Grant went right ahead of us at 100. You're looking at maybe Carson Vinson at 138, but that's very much a developmental prospect (granted they took a WR many did not have getting drafted). No pick in the 6th, but I couldn't believe they didn't go hard after anyone in UDFA.

[vvoland]

Every draft pick is a dart throw.

As I've said previously, I can understand not taking an OT in the first several rounds of the draft. The board fell about as badly as it could have. Though it doesn't help that they went into the draft with such obvious needs. I cannot understand at all their failure to add even a single UDFA at the OT position.

Sure they are all a dart throw but this FO doesn't seem to move away from their list of preferred players. The OTs they had in mind didn't fall to them so they passed on others who weren't on their list of OTs

Yeah, this FO more than most seems to have "their guys," and they will either move up overly aggressively to get that one player or if they miss on that guy will look to another position.

As a general proposition, I don't have a huge problem with that. It should mean you're taking the higher-ranked player on your board most of the time, though I also think they look for specific positions regardless of overall value (see the third round this year).

In terms of OL, the team seems to be reaching a point where they'll probably just have to reach for one at some point. But this year, there wasn't a viable option at 11, Ersery was the only possibility and something of a reach at 43, there wasn't a good option at 75, Rogers and Grant went right ahead of us at 100. You're looking at maybe Carson Vinson at 138, but that's very much a developmental prospect (granted they took a WR many did not have getting drafted). No pick in the 6th, but I couldn't believe they didn't go hard after anyone in UDFA.

Maybe they have faith in these veteran castoffs but man, just one developmental OT prospect in the 7th or UDFA would have made us all feel better about this draft and roster. Sometimes, general mood can be a good indication of what's necessary.

[CrimsonCrew]

Maybe they have faith in these veteran castoffs but man, just one developmental OT prospect in the 7th or UDFA would have made us all feel better about this draft and roster. Sometimes, general mood can be a good indication of what's necessary.

I'm a bit torn. Any developmental, late-round or UDFA OT is going to be a HUGE longshot to even make a roster, much less start at some point. Odds are very high that Dillard and Petit-Frere are better than those guys right now. But that was true of McKivitz and he's turned into a solid player. If you don't at least take a chance on developmental guys, you'll never find that diamond in the rough. I can't understand not even trying to address the position with a young player.

[vvoland]

Maybe they have faith in these veteran castoffs but man, just one developmental OT prospect in the 7th or UDFA would have made us all feel better about this draft and roster. Sometimes, general mood can be a good indication of what's necessary.

I'm a bit torn. Any developmental, late-round or UDFA OT is going to be a HUGE longshot to even make a roster, much less start at some point. Odds are very high that Dillard and Petit-Frere are better than those guys right now. But that was true of McKivitz and he's turned into a solid player. If you don't at least take a chance on developmental guys, you'll never find that diamond in the rough. I can't understand not even trying to address the position with a young player.

This part

[clyde21]

we got a brand refresh for 2025

[Jikkle]

Rumor is that we're playing Seahawks in Seattle Week 1.

They have a lot of new pieces on offense and we have a lot of new pieces on defense but overall I'd say week 1 is a good time to play them.

Defenses are usually ahead of offenses early in the season so I'd say there is a slight advantage our way.

[CrimsonCrew]

Rumor is that we're playing Seahawks in Seattle Week 1.

They have a lot of new pieces on offense and we have a lot of new pieces on defense but overall I'd say week 1 is a good time to play them.

Defenses are usually ahead of offenses early in the season so I'd say there is a slight advantage our way.

Mixed bag on the Hawks. I agree that offenses tend not to come together as quickly as defenses, but Darnold seems to falter as the season progresses, and particularly in high pressure situations. May be a good sign for that last game of the season.

[Cactus Jack]

Mixed bag on the Hawks. I agree that offenses tend not to come together as quickly as defenses, but Darnold seems to falter as the season progresses, and particularly in high pressure situations. May be a good sign for that last game of the season.

I don't know if the Darnold experiment ultimately is going to work? But I don't think they view him as anything but a short term bridge QB. Especially with how the contract is written up. There basically is very little guaranteed money beyond the first year. They weren't willing to commit to Geno long-term. The same is true for Darnold. Which is why I'm not surprised they drafted a QB & took a swing on a prospect like Milroe.

Darnold was Klint Kubiak's guy. That's why he's now the starter in Seattle. At least in the short term.

Do I expect this team to compete with Darnold this season? Not necessarily. But I see the vision for what they're trying to do. Mike Macdonald is trying to shape the roster in his image (Ravens). Carroll did a similar thing in his first couple of years in Seattle.

Geno, Lockett & Metcalf all had strong ties to Carroll.

[wco81]

Darnold killed the 49ers in the game at Minnesota.

[CrimsonCrew]

Mixed bag on the Hawks. I agree that offenses tend not to come together as quickly as defenses, but Darnold seems to falter as the season progresses, and particularly in high pressure situations. May be a good sign for that last game of the season.

I don't know if the Darnold experiment ultimately is going to work? But I don't think they view him as anything but a short term bridge QB. Especially with how the contract is written up. There basically is very little guaranteed money beyond the first year. They weren't willing to commit to Geno long-term. The same is true for Darnold. Which is why I'm not surprised they drafted a QB & took a swing on a prospect like Milroe.

Darnold was Klint Kubiak's guy. That's why he's now the starter in Seattle. At least in the short term.

Do I expect this team to compete with Darnold this season? Not necessarily. But I see the vision for what they're trying to do. Mike Macdonald is trying to shape the roster in his image (Ravens). Carroll did a similar thing in his first couple of years in Seattle.

Geno, Lockett & Metcalf all had strong ties to Carroll.

Yeah, the division should be pretty interesting this year. There's reason for optimism and pessimism for all four teams. I think the Cards could be noticeably better, especially on defense. That Rams' offense could be pretty darn nasty, and the D should only be getting better. And if Darnold can hold it together - which might also involve the OL pretty heavily - the Hawks could be good. The Niners could be the best or the worst depending on guys returning from injury, rookies, etc. I really have no idea what to expect. You could tell me the division ended up in any order and I wouldn't be too surprised.

[Cactus Jack]

Mixed bag on the Hawks. I agree that offenses tend not to come together as quickly as defenses, but Darnold seems to falter as the season progresses, and particularly in high pressure situations. May be a good sign for that last game of the season.

I don't know if the Darnold experiment ultimately is going to work? But I don't think they view him as anything but a short term bridge QB. Especially with how the contract is written up. There basically is very little guaranteed money beyond the first year. They weren't willing to commit to Geno long-term. The same is true for Darnold. Which is why I'm not surprised they drafted a QB & took a swing on a prospect like Milroe.

Darnold was Klint Kubiak's guy. That's why he's now the starter in Seattle. At least in the short term.

Do I expect this team to compete with Darnold this season? Not necessarily. But I see the vision for what they're trying to do. Mike Macdonald is trying to shape the roster in his image (Ravens). Carroll did a similar thing in his first couple of years in Seattle.

Geno, Lockett & Metcalf all had strong ties to Carroll.

Yeah, the division should be pretty interesting this year. There's reason for optimism and pessimism for all four teams. I think the Cards could be noticeably better, especially on defense. That Rams' offense could be pretty darn nasty, and the D should only be getting better. And if Darnold can hold it together - which might also involve the OL pretty heavily - the Hawks could be good. The Niners could be the best or the worst depending on guys returning from injury, rookies, etc. I really have no idea what to expect. You could tell me the division ended up in any order and I wouldn't be too surprised.

The O-line is still a work in progress. Which is why I'm not fully bought in to Darnold & the team's overall chances this year.

Adding Grey Zabel was a necessary move for them. But you also have a starting Right Tackle that has yet to play a full season & has dealt with a chronic knee issue which has caused him to miss a lot of time. As well as a Right Guard situation that still is unresolved. They did not add a veteran starter in free agency & instead are relying mostly on younger guys to develop. Which has been a re-occurring theme for this team.

I do think the defense has a ton of potential & is trending in the right direction under Macdonald. But there are too many questions on the other side of the ball to fully buy in. Especially with a new system in place.

But you can clearly see the vision that they have with who they've drafted & the type of guys they've brought in.

Byron Murphy has often been compared to Madubuike. Then you have guys in this recent draft like Emmanwori, Milroe, etc. It felt very much like a Ravens type of draft.

As far as the rest of the division, I see the Rams as the clear favorite. The Niners should remain competitive. But they did lose a ton of depth on that defense. Health, as always, will be key.

[CrimsonCrew]

I've been a bit pessimistic about the season, but wanted to make a post about some reasons for optimism. Obviously the schedule may be the single biggest one. It's a very light schedule, and we need to capitalize on it to make another playoff run or this FO should feel some heat. But there are other reasons to have a positive view of the upcoming season, several of them linked to the reasons why last year went off the rails.

Arguably the biggest issue for this team last year was 4th quarter defense, which repeatedly cost us close games (granted the offense did not pull its weight, either). I attribute those struggles primarily to two things: 1) a complete inability to stop the run late in games, and 2) a completely vanilla scheme that repeatedly allowed for conversions on 3rd and 4th down.

The Niners were 25th in the league, allowing conversions on over 43% of third downs. They allowed over 65% of fourth down conversions. And it go worse the longer the game went. They couldn't get off the field. The run D was bad, allowing over 124 YPG, but it got much worse as the season progressed. They allowed 156 YPG over the final three games, 220 to the Bills (over 100 to Cook), 169 to the Packers (over 100 to Jacobs). This year, the run defense should be much-improved. We added three really good run-stoppers on the DL and - although quite undersized - a really good LB and nickel back against the run. Our short-yardage defense in particular should be pretty potent. I'm not sure another NFL team has a better run-stopping starting four than Bosa, Collins, West, and Williams.

The addition of Saleh should dramatically improve the scheme, and will hopefully put us into more favorable situations. I think we're weaker on the back end this year, but our front-seven should be better. We also added a number of back-seven players who have excelled at blitzing, so I think we'll see a more aggressive approach. Sorensen just ran man coverage almost every single time on 3rd and long. We never figured out how to defend a bunch formation. I can't see that happening this year.

The other big reason for optimism is that I think our red zone offense could be much better. Despite CMC's injury last year, we ran the ball reasonably well. We were 12th in the league in overall rushing yards, and 9th in yards per attempt. However, our primary RBs, Mason and Guerendo, don't have very good vision. They did okay between the 20s, where the scheme and their physicality allowed them to make some things happen (Mason more so than Guerendo, who was pretty boom-or-bust). But inside the 20, when things tightened up, the lack of vision really showed.

Mason carried 32 times inside the 20, but only had three TDs. His average plummeted from 5.2 overall to 2.9 YPC. Similar runners in terms of YPC fared noticeably better. Bucky Irving had a 5.4 YPC average, and a 4.0 YPC with eight TDs on 37 carries inside the 20. James Cook averaged 5.0 YPC overall, and fell to 3.0 in the red zone, but also scored 12 TDs on 48 carries.

Guerendo was better in the red zone despite his worse vision overall, maintaining a 3.5 YPC average and scoring on four of 14 carries, but seven total red-zone rushing TDs from our primary RBs just isn't good enough (CMC didn't have any).

Some of the red zone struggles fall on our OL. But we need backs with vision down there, too. CMC struggled on limited carries this past year, but he has demonstrated an ability to convert previously. And this is where the addition of Jordan James should pay dividends if CMC goes down again. James isn't a burner, but he's got very good vision and was lethal in the red zone. He converted 15 TDs inside the 20, 14 of them inside the 10. That should be a huge improvement over what we had last year.

Anyway, still plenty to worry about in terms of passing D, OL play, Purdy's trajectory, aging and injured players, etc. But it wouldn't take much for this team to snatch a few more games than last year's team and be right back in the mix for playoffs and possibly more this year.