The wide receiver has been the main character this offseason for the San Francisco 49ers. The team is rumored to trade a former All-Pro, is linked to signing another to a substantial extension and selected two in the 2024 NFL Draft. Oh, and one receiver agreed to a new contract.
KeynoteUSA’s Seth Walder went over each team to give his opinion on their biggest move and the move he liked and disliked most from the offseason:
Greater movement: Don’t trade any of your wide receivers.
Movement that I liked: Do not trade WR Brandon Aiyuk
Movement I didn’t like: Catching WR Ricky Pearsall in the first round
The 49ers enter 2024 with many of the same players that led them to Super Bowl LVIII, aside from some changes on the defensive line.
The team waived defensive tackle Arik Armstead and lost defensive tackles Sebastian Joseph-Day and Javon Kinlaw along with defensive ends Randy Gregory, Clelin Ferrell and Chase Young in free agency and brought in forward Leonard Floyd, defensive tackle Maliek Collins (via trade), defense. end Yetur Gross-Matos and defensive tackle Jordan Elliott. Collins is the player I like the most of that group: a long-underrated pass-rushing threat who ranked 12th in pass-rush win rate at defensive tackle (13%) in 2023 and racked up 5.0 sacks. San Francisco also added De’Vondre Campbell at linebacker, a potentially big signing after Dre Greenlaw tore his left Achilles tendon in the Super Bowl.
Perhaps the most notable move of the 49ers’ offseason is one they didn’t make, at least not yet: trading Aiyuk or wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Aiyuk is worth keeping and paying for as he was the top overall receiver in KeynoteUSA’s receiver tracking metrics last season and he is only 26 years old. On the other hand, Samuel is a great receiver for YAC, but I’m worried about how his playing style will age. At 28, he is two years older than Aiyuk. If the 49ers decide they have invested too much at wide receiver and want to save money, Samuel is the player they should move.
Part of the reason they are so interested is because the team also spent their first-round pick on Pearsall. While a good prospect, that was probably the biggest reach outside of the QB in the first round based on expectations of where the players would be drafted.
As far as the defensive line goes, I think Gross-Matos will give the Niners the best bang for their buck when it comes to offseason investments. His versatility should allow him to play more, and the Niners have always maximized the pass rushers they bring in with the flexibility to win inside and out.
The plan for Pearsall should be the story here. He is in a situation where he will not be among the top four weapons on a team. How often does that happen to a first-round wide receiver? Some will feel that the 49ers need to see what they have in the Day 1 pick, but will Pearsall show that he is ready to make an impact and earn playing time over the wide receivers in front of him?
This assumes Brandon Aiyuk will be in the fold in Week 1. If he’s not, that will put immense pressure on Pearsall to perform right away, which is not something the 49ers likely planned for.
It’s safe to say we can expect Pearsall to play multiple positions, probably around 30-40 percent of the snaps, while Kyle Shanahan finds out what he can do at the NFL level. Unfortunately, the outside world will see it as a failure if the production is not there in year 1.
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