Quarterback

The 49ers were probably the most talented team in the league overall last season and arguably have been for the past two seasons. They had PFF’s top overall team grade and had nine players who played at least 700 snaps and finished with a PFF grade above 80, all of whom remain on the team for 2024, though there is one potential exception that I will get to later. The 49ers have been able to keep all of this talent under the cap by being aggressive in how they structure their contracts, using big signing bonuses to borrow future cap space, and by having the lowest paid quarterback in the league in Brock Purdy, who has been a revelation for them over the past two seasons, despite being the last pick in the draft in 2022. 

The 49ers have seven players who have cap hits higher than 10 million in 2024, a list that is almost identical to the list of nine players who played more than 700 snaps and had PFF grades above 80, with the only two players from that list of nine who don’t have a cap hit above 10 million being the cheap Brock Purdy and running back Christian McCaffrey, who just signed a new extension to lower his cap hit for 2024. The 49ers have yet to win it all, but they could have easily at least made the Super Bowl in 2022 if Purdy didn’t get hurt in the NFC Championship and last year they took the Chiefs to overtime in the Super Bowl and came within a couple plays of winning the game in regulation. With their entire core from a year ago returning for 2024, the 49ers should be considered one of the top teams in the league and the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl again.

As I mentioned, none of this would be possible without Brock Purdy exceeding expectations the way he has, completing 69.4% of his passes for an average of 9.64 YPA, 31 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 21 career regular season starts, while going 17-4 in those games. Purdy has a lot of help around him, both in terms of talented supporting players and a great scheme coached by Kyle Shanahan, but Purdy has played well in his own right, posting a 76.6 PFF grade as a rookie and then jumping to a 88.4 PFF grade in his second season in the league in 2023, 4th in the NFL among quarterbacks. Still only in his age 25 season, Purdy could keep improving and, even if he doesn’t, he should remain one of the better quarterbacks in the league for years to come. 

Purdy does only have one more year left before he’s eligible for a massive pay raise on a long-term extension, which will make it harder for the 49ers to keep talent around him, especially with how aggressive they have been in borrowing future cap space, already about 26 million over the 2025 cap, but Purdy seems like he could develop into the kind of quarterback who could lead this team at least on deep playoff runs even if his supporting cast isn’t quite as good in the future. The 2024 season will probably be the 49ers’ best chance to win a Super Bowl for a while, given Purdy’s contract status and the long-term financial situation of this team, but they should remain competitive for years to come with Purdy under center, Shanahan calling plays, and numerous talented players still in their primes that the 49ers will prioritize keeping long-term.

Purdy will be backed up by veteran journeyman Josh Dobbs, who the 49ers signed this off-season. Calling him a journeyman is putting it lightly, as the 2017 4th round pick is already on his 8th team, including his 6th team since the start of the 2022 season, but he hasn’t been bad when he’s had to play over the past two seasons, completing 62.3% of his passes for an average of 5.93 YPA, 15 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 14 starts. If Purdy suffered a significant injury that kept him out for a long-time, the 49ers’ Super Bowl chances would go way down, but Dobbs could hold down the fort if needed for a few games without this team completely tanking. With one of the better quarterbacks in the league and a capable backup, the 49ers are in good shape at the most important position in the game.

Grade: A

Receiving Corps

As I mentioned earlier, there is one key player from a year ago who could potentially not be on the roster for 2024 and that’s wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who is owed 14.124 million in the final year of his rookie deal and wants to be traded if the 49ers don’t give him what he wants on a long-term extension. The 49ers would probably be able to lower Aiyuk’s cap hit for 2024 if they extended him, even on a deal that made him one of the highest paid wide receivers in the league, but that would give them another big contract to fit under the cap long-term and the 49ers at the very least seem to want to get the best deal possible in re-signing Aiyuk, given the state of their long-term cap situation and that Brock Purdy will be due a huge extension in a year.

A first round pick in 2020, Aiyuk has developed into one of the best wide receivers in the league, going from a 60/748/5 slash line with 1.73 yards per route run as a rookie, to a 56/816/5 slash line with 1.68 yards per route run in his second season in the league, to a 78/1015/8 slash line with 1.91 yards per route run in his third season in the league, to a 75/1342/7 slash line with 3.01 yards per route run last season, and he’s still only in his age 26 season and should remain in his prime for several years. 

The 49ers do have another talented wide receiver in Deebo Samuel, who has averaged 2.29 yards per route run in his career, including a 60/892/7 slash line and 2.32 yards per route run in 2023, and they used their first round pick in this year’s draft on another talented wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, so they may view Aiyuk as expendable. In fact, they probably wouldn’t have drafted Pearsall if they were planning on keeping Aiyuk long-term regardless of the price, as the 49ers had more pressing needs they could have addressed. However, Pearsall is raw, Samuel is often injured, missing time in all five seasons in the league, with 17 games missed total, and the 49ers are in win now mode, so the best case scenario for them would be to keep Aiyuk at his current salary and then franchise tag and trade him next off-season before the draft, moving forward with Samuel and Pearsall long-term and avoiding another huge long-term financial commitment. 

Aiyuk seems pretty committed to holding out until he gets his long-term extension, but he is still leaving a lot of money on the table if he sits out the 2024 season and sitting out the whole year would prevent him from being a free agent next off-season, so the 49ers do hold the leverage in this standoff. The most likely scenario is Aiyuk returning for 2024, with or without an extension, to play alongside Samuel and Pearsall, which would probably be the most talented wide receiver trio in the league, but this is definitely a situation to keep an eye on.

Jauan Jennings was the #3 receiver last season and could remain in that role this season if Aiyuk is traded or if Pearsall is too raw to make a significant impact in year one. Jennings has only averaged 1.31 yards per route run in his career, with slash lines of 24/282/5, 35/416/1, and 19/265/1 over the past three seasons, but the 49ers still kept him on a 2-year, 15.39 million dollar deal this off-season, so they clearly value him, even with all of the other wide receiver talent the 49ers have on this roster. That contract is another sign that the 49ers don’t plan on keeping Aiyik long-term, as that would be a lot of money to pay a #4 receiver.

The 49ers also have a dominant tight end in George Kittle, who plays at a high level as a receiver and a blocker. He has finished above 80 on PFF in six straight seasons, averaging 2.46 yards per route run and a 85/1180/7 slash line per 17 games, including 2.22 yards per route run and a 65/1020/6 slash line on just 90 targets last season. Kittle is going into his age 31 season and has missed 16 games in the past five seasons, which are both concerns, but the 49ers have enough talent that they can survive him being out for a few games, he hasn’t shown any signs of decline yet and, even if he does decline, he’s starting from such a high base point that he should remain one of the best tight ends in the league regardless. 

Charlie Woerner was their #2 tight end last season, playing 313 snaps, but he left this off-season and was replaced by veteran free agent Logan Thomas. Thomas is a decent pass catcher, with 184 catches and a 1.03 yards per route run average in 54 games over the past four seasons, and should be an upgrade over Woerner in that aspect, as Woerner has 11 catches and a 0.55 yards per route run average in four seasons in the league. However, Woerner is a much better run blocker, which is mostly what the 49ers need their #2 tight end for, so Thomas is probably a downgrade overall from Woerner, especially since he’s now going into his age 33 season. The 49ers also have 2023 3rd round pick Cameron Latu as a backup tight end option, but he missed his entire rookie season with injury and is a complete unknown at this point. This is the best receiving corps in the league, assuming Brandon Aiyuk is on the team this season.

Grade: A

Running Backs

Feature back Christian McCaffrey is also heavily involved in the passing game, with a 67/564/7 slash line and a 1.35 yards per route run average, but that was actually his lowest yards per route run average and his lowest yardage total for a healthy season in his career. McCaffrey has a career 1.71 yards per route run average and had slash lines of 80/651/5, 108/874/6, 116/1005/4, and 85/741/5 in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022 respectively, but his 2024 receiving production will probably be around where it was in 2023 again, as there are just so many receiving options on this 49ers offense that someone is going to end up with less than they would have elsewhere.

Limiting McCaffrey’s passing game usage also helps them keep him fresh to carry the load as a runner and he excelled with 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns on 272 carries last season (5.36 YPC), ranking 1st in the NFL in rushing yardage, 4th in rushing touchdowns, and 1st in yards per carry among eligible running backs. In seven seasons in the league, McCaffrey has averaged 4.77 YPC with 52 touchdowns on 1,297 carries, even though he spent most of the early part of his career on bad offenses in Carolina, and he’s even more dangerous now on a 49ers offense that has so many other threats to worry about. He did miss 23 games due to injury from 2020-2021, but has otherwise not missed a game in his career, so it’s not fair to call him an injury prone player. In his age 28 season with 339 career touches, a potential decline for McCaffrey is a concern, but even if he isn’t quite as good as he is in the past, he should still be one of the best running backs in the league. 

McCaffrey rarely comes off the field, playing 812 snaps last season (4th in the NFL among running backs), despite sitting out a meaningless week 18 game, so depth isn’t needed that much behind him, but when McCaffrey does need a breather or if he misses time with injury, the 49ers would likely turn either to incumbent backup Elijah Mitchell or to 4th round rookie Isaac Guerendo. Mitchell saw 81 touches as the backup last season, 16 of which came in that meaningless week 18 game that McCaffrey didn’t play. 

Mitchell has an impressive 4.66 YPC average on 327 carries in three seasons in the league, 207 of which came when he was the lead back in 2021 prior to McCaffrey’s arrival, but he’s very injury prone, missing at least six games in every season, with 24 total games missed in three seasons in the league, and he’s not much of a pass catcher, with just 0.70 yards per route run in his career. Guerendo will probably be behind him on the depth chart, but if Mitchell misses time, Guerendo would likely become the #2 back and, if McCaffrey misses time, Guerendo, who caught 22 passes in his final collegiate season, would probably be the passing down complement to Mitchell. Led by arguably the best running back in the league, with capable depth behind him, the 49ers are in great shape at the running back position.

Grade: A

Offensive Line

As I mentioned earlier, the 49ers probably would not have drafted Ricky Pearsall in the first round if they were planning on keeping Aiyuk long-term regardless of the cost. Some viewed that pick as a luxury pick that the 49ers could afford to make even if they were keeping Aiyuk, but, as talented as the 49ers’ roster is, they did have more pressing needs to address. One of those was the offensive line, which played pretty well last season and returns all five starters from a year ago, but three of those five starters are on the wrong side of 30, so an infusion of young talent was needed.

Left tackle Trent Williams was the best of the bunch, finishing with a 89.9 PFF grade in 15 starts, but he’s going into his age 36 season and could decline significantly soon, perhaps this season. Williams has finished above 70 on PFF in 13 straight seasons, a streak starting with his second season in the league in 2011, and he’s finished above 80 in all but one of those seasons, with five seasons above 90, including three straight as recently as 2020-2022, so even if he does decline significantly this season, he should remain at least an above average starter, but a significant decline from him would have a noticeable negative effect on the rest of this offense.

Center Jake Brendel is going into his age 32 season. The 2016 6th round pick only made three starts in his first six seasons in the league prior to becoming a full-time starter for the first time in 2022, but he’s made 34 starts over the past two seasons and hasn’t been bad, with PFF grades of 64.9 and 63.9. He doesn’t have much margin for error if he declines though, as he’s only a marginal starter at his best and would likely be a liability if he declined even a little. Right guard Jon Feliciano is also going into his age 32 season. He had a 81.2 PFF grade in 2023, but that was pretty out of character for him, as he’s only finished above 70 on PFF in one other season and that came in 2017 when he played just 124 snaps. 

Feliciano has also only made 61 starts in nine seasons in the league, while exceeding 7 starts in a season in only twice. Last season was not one of those seasons, so his strong performance came in a pretty limited sample size, as he played just 478 snaps and made just 7 starts, starting the season on the bench and suffering multiple injuries after taking over the starting job. He’s a good fit for the 49ers blocking scheme, but given his age and his history, I would be surprised if he didn’t regress significantly in 2023. He should at least be available for more games this season though, which is a good thing because Spencer Burford, who started when Feliciano was on the bench or injured, struggled mightily with a 50.4 PFF grade across 846 snaps.

Left guard Aaron Banks is much younger, as the 2021 2nd round pick is only going into his age 27 season, but he’s been mediocre in two seasons as a starter, receiving a 62.7 PFF grade in 16 starts in 2022 and a 54.9 PFF grade in 14 starts in 2023. He came into the league with a lot of upside and he’s still relatively young, even if he is older than most 4th year players are, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he took a step forward in 2024, but that’s not a guarantee. The 49ers don’t have much choice but to start him either way, as their alternatives are very underwhelming. 

The aforementioned Spencer Burford is a 2022 6th round pick who has struggled even more over the past two seasons than Banks has and doesn’t have as much upside as Banks. Dominick Puni is a third round rookie who would probably struggle if forced to start for an extended period of time as a rookie. Ben Bartch has made 20 starts in four seasons in the league since being selected by the Jaguars in the 4th round in 2020, but he’s been middling at best and mostly mediocre when forced into action. Chris Hubbard has made 58 starts in 11 seasons in the league and can play both guard and tackle, but he’s also been middling at best and is now going into his age 33 season.

Right tackle Colton McKivitz is the only offensive line starter below 30 who played well for the 49ers last season, as the 2020 5th round pick is only going into his age 28 season and had a solid 65.1 PFF grade in 17 starts last season. He’s only a one-year starter though, playing just 439 snaps and making just five starts in three seasons in the league prior to last season. He could remain a solid starter in 2024, but it also wouldn’t be a surprise if he regressed somewhat, given his lack of experience.

The 49ers also have a good young swing tackle in Jaylon Moore, a 2021 5th round pick who has made seven starts in three seasons in the league, while receiving PFF grades of 66.3 and 72.9 over the past two seasons. He’s relatively unproven and could struggle in an extended role, but he’s a solid option as far as swing tackles go. Overall, the 49ers’ offensive line looks likely to be worse than a year ago. They bring back all five starters, but four of them could be worse than a year ago, including three who are in their age 32 season or older.

Grade: B

Interior Defenders

The interior defender position is another one the 49ers could have addressed early in the draft, after losing Arik Armstead, their biggest off-season loss. Armstead only played 509 snaps in 12 games last season, but he had a 81.9 PFF grade, excelling as an interior pass rusher, with 5 sacks, 8 hits, and a 11.7% pressure rate. He was going into his age 31 season and had a history of injuries, which is why the 49ers released him to save 18.26 million, but he will still be missed. To replace Armstead, the 49ers traded two late round picks for Maliek Collins and the 2 years and 23 million remaining on his contract. He’s younger than Armstead, only going into his age 29 season, but he will almost definitely be a downgrade, even if he doesn’t miss significant time like Armstead did last season.

Collins is an above average pass rusher, with pass rush grades in the 70s on PFF in four of the past five seasons, a stretch in which he has had 25.5 sacks, 53 hits, and a 8.2% pressure rate in 119 games, but he also finished below 60 on PFF in run defense grade in four of those five seasons, while maxing out with a 65.4 overall grade from PFF. He should remain a similar player in 2024, above average as a pass rusher, below average as a run defender, and middling at best overall.

The 49ers also lost Javon Kinlaw in free agency this off-season, watching him sign with the Jets on a 1-year, 7.25 million dollar deal. He struggled mightily against the run, but was at least a good pass rusher with 3.5 sacks, 2 hits, and a 9.6% pressure rate, while his replacement Jordan Elliott, who the 49ers signed to a 2-year, 7 million dollar deal, isn’t good in any aspect of the game, finishing with PFF grades of 55.3, 41.6, 40.4, and 46.5 on snap counts of 307, 464, 703, and 440 in four seasons in the league since going in the 3rd round in 2020. Equally bad as a run defender and a pass rusher, Elliott has just 5 sacks, 5 hits, and a 4.6% pressure rate in 66 career games. Elliott is now in his age 27 season, so it’s unlikely he has any untapped potential and he figures to continue struggling.

The 49ers do at least bring back Javon Hargrave, who had a 73.9 PFF grade across 632 snaps last season, excelling as a pass rusher with 7 sacks, 7 hits, and a 11.6% pressure rate, while struggling somewhat against the run. That’s in line with how he’s played throughout his career, finishing above 60 on PFF as a pass rusher in all eight seasons in the league, but finishing below 60 in run defense five times. He’s been especially good as a pass rusher the past five seasons, with 34 sacks, 29 hits, and a 12.4% pressure rate in 127 games. Unfortunately, he’s going into his age 31 season and, while he hasn’t shown any signs of decline yet, it wouldn’t be a surprise if his decline started in 2024. He should remain at least an above average pass rusher, but he might not be as good as he has been in recent years, while his run defense could get even worse.

The 49ers also bring back Kevin Givens, who played 398 snaps last season, although he’s an underwhelming option even as a reserve, finishing last season with a 56.9 PFF grade, his 5th straight season below 60 on PFF to begin his career, since going undrafted in 2019. Mediocre as a run defender and a pass rusher, Givens has just 4.5 sacks, 8 hits, and a 5.9% pressure rate in 57 career games and should continue struggling in 2024. The 49ers have a great interior pass rush duo of Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins, but both figure to struggle against the run, while their reserve options of Jordan Elliott and Kevin Givens aren’t good in any aspect of the game. With Arik Armstead gone and Javon Hargrave aging, this position group should be significantly worse than a year ago.

Grade: B-

Edge Defenders

The edge defender position is another spot where the 49ers lost a key player this off-season and could have replaced him in the draft, but didn’t, as they lost Chase Young to the Saints on a 1-year, 13 million dollar deal. Young only spent half the season with the 49ers, after being acquired from the Commanders at the trade deadline for a third round pick, but he had a solid 68.6 PFF grade across 328 snaps, playing the run decently and adding 2.5 sacks, 4 hits, and a 12.0% pressure rate in 9 games. The 49ers also lost Clelin Ferrell this off-season and he was decent with a 60.7 PFF grade on 471 snaps, while totaling 3.5 sacks, 9 hits, and a 10.2% pressure rate in 17 games.

With no premium draft picks being used on the position, Young and Ferrell will be replaced by free agents Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos, neither of whom are likely to be as good as Young was last season. Floyd was an above average edge defender in his prime, exceeding 60 on PFF in seven straight seasons to begin his career, through the 2022 season, but he fell to 56.3 across 576 snaps last season and is now heading into his age 32 season, so his best days are almost definitely behind him. He was still a solid pass rusher with 10.5 sacks, 8 hits, and a 10.5% pressure rate last season, but he struggled against the run and missed a bunch of tackles, so he’s not as complete of a player as Chase Young was, even before you take his age into account.

Yetur Gross-Matos is much younger than Floyd, only going into his age 26 season, and he has upside as a 2020 2nd round pick, but he has been underwhelming through four seasons in the league, with PFF grades of 54.7, 63.8, 51.2, and 65.4 respectively on snap counts of 377, 349, 847, and 465 respectively. He isn’t a bad run defender, but he only has 13 sacks, 18 hits, and a 7.2% pressure rate in 55 career games and, unless he takes a big step forward in 2024, he figures to remain an underwhelming option.

The 49ers do still have Nick Bosa, who had a 92.7 PFF grade across 821 snaps last season. That was the best single season grade of his 5-year career, but he’s far from a one-year wonder, also receiving PFF grades of 86.7, 88.3, and 90.9 on snap counts of 777, 840, and 745 in 2019, 2021, and 2022 respectively, with a lost season due to injury in 2020 in between. He’s also not injury prone, only missing one game due to injury in his other four seasons combined, aside from his season ending injury in 2020. 

In total, Bosa has 53.5 sacks, 92 hits, and a 16.2% pressure rate in 68 career games, with 10.5 sacks, 24 hits, and a 16.8% pressure rate in 17 games last season and, as good as he is as a pass rusher, he is equally good against the run. Still very much in the prime of his career in his age 27 season, Bosa is on the short list of top Defensive Player of the Year candidates, an award he won in 2022. He elevates this position group significantly by himself.

Drake Jackson also figures to play more snaps then he did a year ago, when he suffered a season ending injury after 199 snaps in 8 games, which is why the 49ers went out and acquired Chase Young. Jackson was a second round pick in 2022, but has yet to live up to that, playing just 514 snaps in 23 games in two seasons in the league, while receiving middling PFF grades of 64.6 and 62.1. He’s a solid run stopper, but only has 6 sacks, 4 hits, and a 7.8% pressure rate thus far in his career. He could take a step forward in his third season in the league in 2024 though, only going into his age 23 season. Still, this is an overall underwhelming position group outside of Nick Bosa, but Bosa is so good that it would be hard for this group to be bad overall as long as he is healthy.

Grade: B+

Linebackers

In addition to Nick Bosa, the 49ers also have a dominant defender in their linebacking corps, as Fred Warner finished last season with a 90.2 PFF grade across 982 snaps. That was the best season of his career, but he also has had PFF grades of 88.6, 75.2, and 83.7 across snap counts of 973, 977, and 1,026 over the three seasons prior to last season, so, even if he isn’t as good as he was last season, he should still remain one of the best linebackers in the league, still very much in his prime in his age 28 season. 

Fellow starting linebacker Dre Greenlaw is coming off of a solid season in his own right, with a 69.3 PFF grade on 848 snaps. That’s not out of character for him, exceeding 60 on PFF in all five seasons in the league, maxing out with an 81.2 PFF grade on 850 snaps in 2022. He’s also still in his prime in his age 27 season. Unfortunately, he tore his achilles in the Super Bowl and could miss a big chunk of the 2024 season and/or not be his best self when he returns. 

Because of Greenlaw’s injury, the 49ers signed veteran De’Vondre Campbell to a 1-year, 5 million dollar deal in free agency. In his prime, Campbell was one of the best linebackers in the league, receiving PFF grades of 84.7 and 75.6 in 2021 and 2022, but he fell to a 65.3 PFF grade in 2023 and is now going into his age 31 season, so his best days are probably behind him. He should still be an adequate replacement for Greenlaw while he is out or not at his best and, if Greenlaw can return to form at some point in 2024, Campbell is more than qualified to be the third linebacker in base packages.

If Greenlaw misses time, it’s unclear who the third linebacker in base packages would be and all of the 49ers’ options are underwhelming. Veterans Ezekiel Turner and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles are both career special teamers who have played just 194 snaps in six seasons in the league and 468 snaps in five seasons in the league, while 2023 6th round pick Dee Winters struggled mightily on 61 snaps as a rookie. 

The 49ers also have 2023 7th round pick Jalen Graham, who didn’t play a snap as a rookie, and 7th round pick Tatum Bethune, who is likely to struggle as a rookie. Fortunately, the third linebacker job is just a part-time role and the 49ers would only need a replacement until Greenlaw returns from injury. With Warner, Greenlaw, and Campbell as their top-3 linebackers, this is an impressive group, even with Greenlaw’s injury and their lack of depth outside of their top-3 taken into account.

Grade: A-

Secondary

The 49ers also got a dominant season out of top cornerback Chavarius Ward, who had an 82.6 PFF grade across 931 snaps in 2023. An undrafted free agent in 2018, Ward spent the first four seasons of his career in Kansas City and was a solid starter, receiving PFF grades in the 60s in all four seasons while starting 41 of the 43 games he played across his final three seasons with the Chiefs, but he took off when he joined the 49ers on a 3-year, 40.5 million dollar deal two off-seasons ago, receiving a 83.2 PFF grade across 959 snaps in 2022, before repeating that level of play again in 2023. Ward’s contract, which once looked like an overpay, now looks like a steal, as he’s only the 11th highest paid cornerback in the league in terms of average annual salary. Still in his prime in his age 28 season, Ward should remain a dominant cornerback in 2024 and is unlikely to regress to his pre-2022 form.

Deommodore Lenoir was the #2 cornerback last season and had a pretty solid season, with a 72.5 PFF grade across 981 snaps. He’s a one-year wonder, as the 2021 5th round pick had PFF grades of 57.1 and 55.9 across snap counts of 238 and 887 in the first two seasons of his career, so he could regress in 2024, but he’s also only going into his age 25 season and could have permanently turned a corner as an above average starter, so it’s far from a guarantee that he will regress this season.

Ambry Thomas (482 snaps) and Isaiah Oliver (503 snaps) also saw roles at cornerback last season and were solid with PFF grades of 71.5 and 67.6 respectively. Oliver is no longer with the team, but Thomas remains and will compete with second round rookie Renardo Green and free agent acquisition Isaac Yiadom for the #3 cornerback job. Green has a high upside long-term, but Thomas and Yiadom could be better options in the short-term. 

Both Thomas and Yiadom are one-year wonders though. Thomas was a third round pick in 2021, struggling mightily with a 46.1 PFF grade on 334 snaps as a rookie and then playing just 41 snaps in his second season in the league. He’s still only in his age 25 season and has upside, but he still didn’t play that big of a snap count as a part-time player in 2023 and could be overmatched in a bigger role in 2024, so he comes with a lot of downside.

Yiadom, meanwhile, was also a third round pick, back in 2018, but he struggled mightily with PFF grades in the 50s on an average of 467 snaps per season in his first three seasons in the league and then played just 98 snaps between 2021-2022, before surprisingly breaking out with a 81.1 PFF grade across 517 snaps with the Saints in 2023. He probably won’t be that good again in 2024, especially if he plays an expanded role, but even if he regresses significantly, he could remain a solid third cornerback. Yiadom, Thomas, and the rookie Green all come with big downsides, but they also have big upsides and, overall, they provide great depth as the 49ers’ 3rd, 4th, and 5th cornerbacks, in some order.

At safety, Tashaun Gipson and Talanoa Hufanga were the starters to begin last season and both had impressive seasons, with PFF grades of 73.6 and 70.5 respectively. Hufanga suffered a season ending injury down the stretch and was limited to 577 snaps in 10 games on the season, but his replacement, 2023 3rd round pick Ji’Ayir Brown, played at an even higher level in his absence, finishing with a 77.9 PFF grade across 396 snaps. Gipson wasn’t re-signed this off-season, so Brown will start opposite Hufanga.

Brown is a projection to a season-long starter role and might not be as good as he was in limited action last season, but, even if he isn’t, he could still be a solid starter and he has the upside to be more than that. Hufanga, meanwhile, was a season-long starter in 2022 and had a 68.8 PFF grade so, assuming he’s over the injury that ended his 2023 season, he should be a solid starter in 2024. Hufanga, 2021 5th round pick, is also still only in his age 25 season and could have the upside for more. Even after losing Tashaun Gipson this off-season, the 49ers still should have a solid safety duo in Ji’Ayir Brown and Talanoa Hufanga.

Depth is a concern though, without Gipson. The 49ers drafted Malik Mustapha in the 4th round this year, but he’s probably too raw to start for an extended period of time in case of an injury to Brown or Hufanga. George Odum would be the veteran option, but he’s mostly been a special teamer in his career and has been middling at best on an average of 177 snaps per season in six seasons in the league. He’s also now going into his age 31 season, so his best days are probably behind him. Perhaps the 49ers could move one of their cornerbacks to safety in case of an injury, as their cornerback room is much deeper. Overall, this is a talented secondary that should be above average.

Grade: B+

Conclusion

The 49ers have come very close to winning it all the past two seasons and bring back almost their entire core from the past two seasons. They might not necessarily be the favorites to win it all, but they’re high up on the short list of teams who could win it all. Much is dependent on the Brandon Aiyuk contract/holdout situation, but it seems likely that he will suit up for the 49ers one way or another this season.

Update: Aiyuk has been re-signed long-term. The 49ers still have a concerning situation with Trent Williams wanting his contract redone, but it seems like the 49ers will resolve that sooner rather than later.

Prediction: 15-2, 1st in NFC West