With the vast majority of the top NFL free agents having signed with teams by now, we have a better idea of which areas certain teams are likely to improve in, as well as those in which they might decline.
Generally speaking, the 49ers have received very positive reviews for the developments of their offseason. They have addressed some of their biggest needs, and even managed to deal with Joe Staley’s retirement on the fly while theoretically improving his spot on the offensive line in trading for Trent Williams. That said, it shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise that none of San Francisco’s transactions were included among ESPN’s Mike Clay’s 25 biggest position upgrades of the NFL offseason. After all, when you have as stacked of a roster as the 49ers had last season, there isn’t as much room to go up.
Just because the 49ers weren’t included in Clay’s rankings, however, doesn’t mean they won’t be significantly impacted by the top position upgrades in the league. In fact, there’s a high likelihood San Francisco will be directly affected by each of what Clay has determined to be the three biggest upgrades in the NFL.
The single biggest position upgrade of the NFL offseason, according to Clay, is the one most certain to impact the 49ers of the top three. Why? Because the player providing the upgrade most recently played for San Francisco: defensive tackle DeForest Buckner.
Colts general manager Chris Ballard said early in the offseason that the Colts’ defensive scheme runs through the three-technique tackle, Clay wrote. He put his money where his mouth is not long after, trading for Buckner. The 26-year-old was arguably the 49ers’ best player during a 2019 season that saw the team advance to the Super Bowl. Buckner’s 7 1/2 sacks tied for sixth, his 12 tackles for loss fifth and his 61 total tackles ninth among interior defensive linemen.
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