Will the 49ers Focus on Offense in the Draft?
Analyzing whether the San Francisco 49ers will focus on offense in the upcoming NFL Draft.
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00:00 They signed a bunch of players.
00:01 They were all on defense.
00:03 Now it's time to look to the draft,
00:05 which is in about a month and a half.
00:08 Is this where the Niners go offense heavy?
00:11 I think they do.
00:12 Part of the reason they went defense heavy
00:14 is players that aren't necessarily
00:17 available in the draft in terms of size, for example.
00:21 Then 13 of the top 16 edges in the draft
00:24 weigh under 260 pounds.
00:27 So if you want somebody like Gros Matos,
00:30 you need to go into the free agent market
00:32 to get him because you're not going to get size there.
00:34 So I think that drove part of the process.
00:37 And part of it also is this, that they want that physicality.
00:40 They want the NFL strength on the line.
00:42 And that's something you can get in free agency.
00:45 And it's also mindset driven that Kyle
00:47 isn't a believer in spending big in the offensive line
00:50 in free agency.
00:50 He just doesn't do it.
00:52 And then you look at the other positions and say,
00:54 OK, where would he go free agency on offense?
00:56 Tight end, but the tight ends went early.
00:59 A lot of those tight ends went off of the availability market
01:02 right away.
01:02 And then it's running back wide receiver, it's too expensive.
01:05 So it kind of fits that given the mindset and their needs
01:09 that they went defense and free agency, it made sense.
01:12 So if they're going to go offense early,
01:14 do you think that they're actually-- even though they
01:16 re-signed John Feliciano, they extended Colton McIver,
01:19 so they're not super invested in either player.
01:21 You think they'll go offensive line with their first pick?
01:25 I think they might, but it's not where
01:27 people want it to be spent.
01:29 People want it to be spent at right tackle.
01:31 I think that it's more likely to be center than Graham Barton
01:34 from Duke, who is a tackle at Duke,
01:37 but is projected by everybody to be a center in the league.
01:40 And so I think that he's somebody they would look at.
01:43 Zach Frazier from West Virginia is climbing up the boards.
01:46 He's early second, maybe late first.
01:48 So you've got two centers that you can look at there.
01:51 But I don't think they're going to take a tackle
01:53 unless somebody falls to them, or they
01:55 make an unexpected move up.
01:58 You know, I was a little surprised that they
02:01 traded for Malik Collins.
02:03 I mean, signing Jordan Elliott, I didn't think,
02:06 changed anything.
02:07 He felt like a replacement for Kinlaw,
02:10 who got a little bit more money than Jordan Elliott.
02:13 But then they went and traded for Malik Collins,
02:16 traded a seventh round pick for him, which isn't a lot.
02:18 But he's going to be making a little bit more
02:19 than $10 million a year.
02:20 Is that correct?
02:21 Yeah.
02:22 I mean, you're paying him to be a starter.
02:24 The Texans didn't really want him anymore.
02:26 He's not as good as Armstead, unless Armstead's hurt.
02:29 I was thinking the Niners would spend their first round pick
02:31 on a defensive tackle and get someone
02:33 like with premium talent.
02:34 But now I'm not so sure.
02:36 It depends on who's there.
02:39 Part of the thing is that with Aaron Donald retiring,
02:42 that the Rams will probably now go defensive tackle
02:44 with their pick.
02:45 They weren't expected to before.
02:47 So Byron Murphy from Texas probably
02:50 goes by the Rams pick, if not before.
02:53 And then the Rams might take a look at Jersey
02:54 Newton from Illinois also.
02:56 And those are the only two guys that we
02:58 go first round and do tackle.
03:00 So I think they're both gone before 31.
03:03 Makes sense.
03:04 So they have to move up.
03:06 You get a non-premium position at 31.
03:09 That's OK.
03:11 I still think that the Niners are
03:13 going to go defense heavy early in the draft.
03:15 Maybe I'm wrong.
03:16 We could talk about--
03:17 We could.
03:18 Yeah.
03:18 I just get the feeling that this is a theme for the offseason.
03:22 The theme for the offseason is the Niners' offense
03:27 ranked second in yards gained.
03:29 It was a great offense.
03:31 And what they need to do is stay intact.
03:34 Whereas the defense ranked eighth in yards allowed,
03:37 which was just unacceptable.
03:39 And they got to get this right, which
03:41 is incredible because if you look at the points rankings,
03:44 they both ranked third.
03:46 But if you look at the yards, then the offense
03:48 was much better than the defense.
03:50 I don't know.
03:51 Kyle's looking at the team the way he wants to.
03:54 Yeah.
03:55 Well, and Kyle's going to do that.
03:56 And since Kyle's the true GM, as I always say,
04:00 Lynch answers to him.
04:01 Lynch isn't making these calls.
04:03 Kyle is.
04:03 He's the final set.
04:05 And so what Kyle's philosophy holds
04:07 is we don't need to take offensive linemen early.
04:11 That's not what we do.
04:13 But the thing is, you've got a draft that's
04:15 the best in over a decade in talent,
04:18 that you've got five guys, six guys, who
04:21 can start day one at tackle.
04:23 And you're going to just ignore that when Trent Williams is
04:26 two years away from retirement?
04:27 Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
04:29 But Kyle's going to Kyle.
04:31 He's going to do what he believes in.
04:32 And so I think that's possible.
04:34 I don't think that's advisable, but I
04:36 think it's what he's going to do.
04:37 Defense early, maybe.
04:39 It's going to depend on who's there.
04:41 And defensive tackle, I don't think is going to be there.
04:44 Yeah, his whole philosophy with the Niners
04:47 is defense first, run game, yards
04:51 after the catch, which is basically
04:53 like three different ways to work around a subpar
04:56 quarterback and a subpar offensive line, which
04:59 it seems like the Niners, Kyle Shanahan in particular,
05:03 embraces.
05:04 Yeah.
05:04 Yeah.
05:05 That's more than he ever dreamed.
05:08 And the offensive line is good enough.
05:10 Why are you tying your hands behind your back
05:12 when you can make life so much easier if you just get tackles
05:15 and you address the right side of the line?
05:17 What's so hard?
05:19 The one thing that gives me hope is that Kyle does value center,
05:22 that when they had Alex Mack, they did well,
05:25 the Western Richburg who they acquired.
05:28 So at least he shows some semblance of priority at center,
05:32 but not at tackle.
05:33 And that's part of what drives my thinking that they
05:35 could look at Barton at 31.
05:38 Definitely.
05:40 Yes.
05:40 And what do you know-- tell me about Barton.
05:46 He's played all three positions.
05:49 He started out at Duke as a center, played well.
05:52 Then they moved him to guard, and now he's been a tackle.
05:54 And he's quite good.
05:56 He has only given up, I think, one sack, one or two pressures
06:00 this year.
06:01 And technically sound.
06:03 I talked with Lance Zerline of NFL.com about him.
06:06 He says, perfect fit for the Shanahan offense.
06:09 And Zerline knows.
06:11 He has spent his time in Houston.
06:13 So he was there when Gary Kubiak was running the Texans.
06:16 So Zerline knows this offense really well.
06:19 He knows when it's a great fit.
06:21 And also, his dad was an OL coach for 30 years.
06:23 So he knows offensive line really well.
06:26 So when Zerline tells me, perfect fit, he'd be ideal,
06:29 I pay attention to that.
06:30 I think it's worth listening to him on that.
06:33 And then his compatriot at NFL.com, Daniel Jeremiah,
06:36 also a heavy believer in Barton.
06:39 And Louis Riddick from ESPN said, point blank, all pro.
06:42 Now, you can say what you want in terms of evaluation.
06:46 Those three guys that know what they're talking about,
06:48 who all say that Barton's going to be impact.
06:50 And you look around the league, and you say, OK,
06:52 who are some of the better teams?
06:54 Creed Humphrey, one of the best centers, Kansas City.
06:57 And then you've got Kelsey that just retired in Philly,
06:59 but he anchored the best line in the league.
07:02 And Linderbom in Baltimore.
07:04 Centers are having an impact in the league right now.
07:07 The common thinking is, center, it's poor positional value.
07:10 But it's not if they're great.
07:12 And Barton is great.
07:13 And that's part of why you consider him.
07:16 Sure.
07:16 He's a good system fit, too.
07:18 Brendo's solid, but he's not great.
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