what about Hakeem Nicks, any chance they're in the market for his services?
I know it won't happen, but I'd love to see what J. Clowney would do on that D-line..
I don't think they are going to be in the market for any FA that wants more than 2-3m a year, honestly, and even that is probably pushing it.
I think if they do it will be likely be at a position where someone else isn't coming back. I can see they the niners dropping more than that on a corner for instance.
Perhaps, but they lost their top 2 nose tackles last year and replaced them with Dorsey at 3m. Corner is a premium position, but I think they'd settle for a vet who encounters a cool market (Brown might even fall into this category).
I think if they are targeting a particular position / player early then they go CB / WR in the first 2 rounds followed by OL and LB in the next 2. I could also see them grabbing a Safety in the first 3 rounds depending on what happens with Whitner / FA. Don’t think they go DL until 4th or later but again BPA and draft day trades could change a lot.
IMO Boldin and Whitner are the two biggest question marks that will dictate a lot. If Boldin comes back I think they mainly look to the draft for a few WR's and possibly bring in some cheaper FA’s for competition. If Boldin does not come back they are going to have to find a way to get a decent starter in FA as I don’t think they can rely on Patton (who I really do like a lot) and whatever rookie they draft to carry the load next year as the #2. Same goes for Whitner, if he leaves then Safety could be a priority early or they look for a serviceable veteran to upgrade over Dahl and Spillman. After that I think Dawson would be their 3rd priority for an early deal.
I think they let Brown test the market and with several quality corners available I think they are going to be able to resign him at a fair price. Either way they are going to have to draft a CB early with the uncertainty of Culliver post his ACL and Rogers most likely leaving.
If Gore comes back at a decent rate then they roll with him, Lattimore and Hunter. I could see them drafting another RB in the later rounds as well as grabbing a cheaper guy in FA. In reality even though we seem to have a plethora of backs each has a lot of question marks as far as being “the guy” moving forward. Probably be a RBBC next year with Gore and Lattimore leading the way. Very excited to what Lattimore can do.
I thought Wilhoite did well in place of Willis this year and think they will make retaining him a priority as well to fill in for Bowman early on. I think we draft a LB in 4 or 5 unless they lose Wilhoite then that position becomes a little more interesting on draft day / FA.
I also think they look for an OL in the first 4-5 rounds. Center is up in the air and I don’t think they are going to be able to resign Iupati next year so they need some quality depth ASAP.
DT, DL and OLB seem pretty set for now IMO so I don’t think they focus on those spots until later in the draft.
I am still holding out hope that Roman takes off but it’s looking like we may be stuck with him another year.