Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Tuesday, April 30th, 2024
Report: 49ers keeping ‘in touch’ with free agent safety Jamal Adams
“Sources said the San Francisco 49ers are among other teams who have kept in touch with Adams, so the Seahawks could have some competition for the former All-Pro safety, who is still just 28 years old,” wrote Condotta.”
Hutchinson: 49ers Draft Grade: How 2024 class, approach fared
The theme of this draft? Solid. Most of these players, with the exception of Jacob Cowing, and perhaps Isaac Guerendo, feel like very smart bets with high floors, and little downside.
“My only real knock in this draft is that the 49ers had two tackles taken in front of them in the second round, and are putting quite a lot of faith in Jaylon Moore as their swing tackle. I don’t quite share that faith.
They also did not address the interior of their defensive line until undrafted free agency, with bowling ball nose tackle Evan Anderson out of FAU, who they guaranteed $280,000 to. That’s a sign they think he could be their backup nose.
Given the talent in this draft at defensive tackle, I think they should’ve addressed that. Instead of drafting Jacob Cowing, I think they should’ve traded back and moved for a defensive tackle like Tyler Davis out of Clemson (Rams, Pick 196) or Jaden Crumedy out of Mississippi State) Panthers, Pick 200), and/or taken one of two EDGE prospects, in either Mohamed Kamara (Dolphins, Pick 158) or Brennan Jackson (Rams, Pick 154). They also could’ve taken Duke defensive tackle Dewayne Carter instead of Puni, though Puni is a sound choice.
Their edge depth is better than their defensive tackle depth, and the 49ers’ brass identified this weak edge class as a reason to sign Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos, so the decision not to take an edge is hard to criticize too harshly. It was a mess of a class.”
““I had him as my fifth-best receiver in this draft,” Baldinger declared. “When I watch him, I interviewed him a couple of weeks ago on the NFL Network, and I just said to him, I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re always open. Like, what’s the deal?’ He runs these over routes in the SEC, nobody’s bumping him. He’s an elite tester. He catches everything. To me, he’s just a bigger, faster Julian Edelman. He can just rule the middle of the field. He’s an amazing player. Great prospect.”
Resetting 49ers’ roster, position battles after busy 2024 NFL Draft
“The new acquisitions of Collins, Floyd, Gross-Matos and Elliott will be counted upon to join Bosa and Hargrave as key pieces in the 49ers’ D-line rotation. They are also looking for Jackson, Givens, Davis and Beal to expand their contributions. The 49ers have an agreement with Anderson, a 320-pounder from Florida Atlantic, who will be given a long look and should get a chance to develop on the practice squad.”
49ers post-NFL Draft depth chart: Where do Ricky Pearsall and Dominick Puni fit? (paywall)
“The plan looks aimed at giving Pearsall runway to gradually work his way into a full-time mix. Shanahan wants his wideouts to know every receiver role and he’s already stated that Pearsall has the skill set to play all of them. But with Aiyuk and Samuel still around, Pearsall can begin to work the inside while expanding his role outward. His slippery play should immediately add another wrinkle to a 49ers offense built to compromise defenses over the intermediate middle of the field. Meanwhile, the 49ers hope that Cowing can give them the explosive threat that hasn’t yet materialized from Gray, whose future with the team appears to be in serious jeopardy.”
What makes 49ers think Isaac Guerendo will end string of RB draft missteps? (paywall)
“Director of player personnel Tariq Ahmad said the 49ers did their digging to ensure Guerendo’s lack of playing time wasn’t tied to effort or attitude issues.
“We did extensive background in talking to previous coaches at Wisconsin,” Ahmad said, “and we received consensus feedback that he was our type of guy. That he would be a perfect fit for our culture here. So we felt very comfortable there. And then we used our eyes to evaluate the talent.”
“I’ve changed my thinking on that,” Breer stated. “I now think they’re probably going to try to extend Aiyuk, and I think Deebo Samuel is available. I think Aiyuk is viewed more as the true number-one receiver there, a guy who is a more natural receiver. And Deebo Samuel, as good as he is, and unique as he is, might be seen as a little bit of a luxury item there.
“So I think the plan for now is to keep all those guys on the roster together and make one more all-in run with the entire group. But if you ask me who’s going to be on the Niners’ roster longer, whether the change happens now or a year from now, I’d say Aiyuk is probably going to be there for a longer period of time than Deebo.”