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One overthrown move. That was the distinction between the 49ers presumably profitable their sixth Super Bowl and falling simply in need of their aim. Down 4 factors with precisely 100 seconds left in Tremendous Bowl LIV, the 49ers confronted a third-and-10 from the Chiefs‘ 49-yard-line. Jimmy Garoppolo, who had out-played Patrick Mahomes for two-thirds of the evening, overthrew Emmanuel Sanders on a play that will have seemingly went for a landing had Garoppolo not overthrown his receiver. The QB was sacked on fourth down, and the Chiefs scored the game-clinching landing two performs later.
Accidents derailed the 49ers’ protection of their NFC title and probability of redeeming the Tremendous Bowl LIV loss. Garoppolo, George Kittle, Nick Bosa, Richard Sherman, Dee Ford, Deebo Samuel, Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, Brandon Aiyuk, Ben Garland, Solomon Thomas, Ronald Blair, Kwon Alexander, Ezekiel Ansah and Jaquiski Tartt missed a mixed 149 video games in 2020. Regardless of these (and different) accidents, the 49ers had been 5-6 after beating the playoff-bound Rams in Week 12. And whereas their closing document was an underwhelming 6-10, 5 of the 49ers’ losses had been determined by eight or fewer factors. If not for the mountain of accidents, San Francisco seemingly would have claimed one of many NFC’s seven playoff spots.
With 2020 within the rearview mirror, the 49ers have already began the method of constructing subsequent 12 months’s roster with the hope of returning to the playoffs in 2021. Listed here are 5 issues San Francisco can do that offseason to assist make {that a} actuality.
1. Hold Jimmy G
The 49ers’ brass have said they’ve their beginning quarterback in Garoppolo, who will nonetheless be on the south aspect of 30 years outdated at the beginning of the 2021 season. He has two years remaining on the five-year, $135.5 million contract he signed in 2018. And whereas his $26.2 million cap hit is critical, Garoppolo’s present contract makes him the NFL‘s thirteenth highest-paid quarterback, in line with Over The Cap.
He isn’t Mahomes, however Garoppolo has confirmed that he’s able to main a staff to the Tremendous Bowl. He made a number of well timed completions at crucial moments through the 2019 common season. He’s additionally extraordinarily conversant in Kyle Shanahan’s system, and doesn’t thoughts handing the ball off 50 instances to his working backs if that is what it takes to win.
Staying wholesome is Garoppolo’s biggest problem after lacking 23 video games throughout his first three full seasons in San Francisco. He not too long ago mentioned that bettering his sturdiness is his greatest focus this offseason. If wholesome, Garoppolo is a high quality quarterback whose greatest seasons should still be forward of him.
2. Draft a quarterback
The 49ers can and may maintain Garoppolo — however they need to additionally draft his successor. The Packers did simply that through the 2020 draft, and it resulted in Aaron Rodgers having fairly presumably the very best season of his Corridor of Fame-bound profession. The 49ers have the No. 12 total decide within the draft, which implies that they’ll seemingly miss out on having the possibility to pick Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State’s Justin Fields and BYU’s Zach Wilson. San Francisco could also be in place, nonetheless, to pick Alabama’s Mac Jones or North Dakota State’s Trey Lance. CBS Sports activities NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson has the 49ers choosing Lance in his most recent Mock Draft.
“Kyle Shanahan mentioned not too long ago that Jimmy Garoppolo is his QB for 2021, however that does not imply the staff cannot (or will not) plan for the long run,” Wilson wrote. “Trey Lance has the athleticism and arm energy to be a legit NFL QB, he solely lacks expertise. But when anybody can get probably the most out of his talents it is Shanahan, who did simply that with Robert Griffin III throughout his rookie 12 months in Washington again in 2012.”
As Wilson wrote, Lance falls underneath the class of rookie quarterbacks that will profit from observing earlier than being thrust onto the sector. That makes him a perfect decide for the 49ers, who’ve Garoppolo underneath contract via the 2022 season. Lance would give Shanahan an opportunity to groom Garoppolo’s attainable successor whereas additionally giving Garoppolo an added incentive to have a breakout season.
3. Add expertise to the offensive line and secondary
Whereas the 49ers will finally re-sign a few of them, the staff at the moment doesn’t have a cornerback underneath contract for the ’21 season. If they do not draft a quarterback within the first spherical, the 49ers could also be in place to draft both Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley or Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, the 2 top-rated corners within the draft. They cabinet will not be naked if the 49ers select to attend till the second spherical to take a nook: Clemson’s Derion Kendrick, South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn, Florida State’s Asante Samuel Jr., and Ohio State’s Shaun Wade are all within the prime 50 of CBS Sports’ 2021 draft protect list. The 49ers would even be sensible to re-sign Sherman, who may function a mentor for the staff’s new nook. A number of attainable free brokers the 49ers may pursue embrace cornerbacks Patrick Peterson, Brian Poole, Mackensie Alexander and Cam Sutton, amongst others.
Much like the nook place, the 49ers may even be in place to take one of many top-rated offensive lineman in the event that they select to not take a quarterback with their first decide. Whereas Oregon’s Penei Sewell can be off the board, USC’s Alijah Vera-Tucker could be accessible when San Francisco is on the clock with the No. 12 total decide. In the event that they determine to deal with the quarterback and cornerback positions with their first two picks, search for the 49ers to make use of a number of picks on their offensive line. A number of attainable late Day 2/early Day 3 draft choices at offensive line embrace Ohio State’s Josh Myers, Alabama’s Landon Dickerson, and Iowa’s duo of Alaric Jackson and Tyler Linderbaum.
4. Signal a veteran receiver
The 49ers benefitted from having Emmanuel Sanders on their roster through the dwelling stretch of the ’19 season. The 49ers would once more profit by having a confirmed veteran of their receivers room. This is able to additionally give them some flexibility if the staff loses Kendrick Bourne in free company.
A number of veterans which can be slated to turn into free brokers embrace T.Y. Hilton, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Will Fuller, Willie Snead and Marvin Jones. Smith-Schuster, a California native, remains to be simply 24 years outdated after being drafted by the Steelers at age 20. But when Smith-Schuster’s worth level is simply too steep, a greater possibility could be the 31-year-old Jones, who has caught 9 touchdowns every of the final two seasons. Jones’ estimated market worth is $38.2 million over 4 years, in line with Spotrac. That quantity is considerably decrease than Smith-Schuster’s estimated market worth, which might pay him almost $19 million a season over six seasons.
5. Discover the very best substitute for Saleh
It seems to be a foregone conclusion that an NFL staff will tab Robert Saleh as its new head coach someday quickly. Saleh’s head teaching prospects improved this season after his protection completed fourth within the NFL in passing, seventh in dashing, fourth in third down effectivity and ninth in purple zone effectivity. Dropping Saleh goes to harm, however the 49ers can soften the blow by selecting the absolute best successor.
San Francisco might not must look past its personal facility to seek out Saleh’s substitute. Shanahan not too long ago mentioned that he would “completely” take into account selling linebackers coach DeMeco Ryans to defensive coordinator. The 36-year-old Ryans is simply 5 years faraway from being on the sector himself; he was a two-time Professional Bowler throughout a 10-year profession that noticed him begin in 139 of 140 common season video games. Ryans has loved a profitable begin to his teaching profession after becoming a member of the 49ers as a high quality management coach in 2017. Beneath Ryans’ watch, Fred Warner earned his first Professional Bowl berth in 2020. The 2018 third-round decide stuffed up the stat sheet, with 125 tackles, two interceptions, six passes defensed, a pressured fumble, a sack and two fumble recoveries.
“It is a matter of time earlier than DeMeco is a coordinator on this league, a matter of time earlier than he is a head coach,” Shanahan mentioned earlier this month, via The Athletic.
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