After releasing multiple players along the defensive line, is it smart for a playoff team to rely on this many rookies?
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch was not bashful about the team needing to get younger this offseason. His actions spoke louder than his words after releasing 32-year-old Leonard Floyd, 30-year-old defensive tackle Maliek Collins, and trading away a 29-year-old Deebo Samuel, who hadn’t played a full season during his six-year career due to various injuries.
Even before those departures, let’s not act as if the Niners are long in the tooth. Lynch wanted to get younger where it mattered.
Trent Williams turns 37 in less than two months, and his potential replacement was a player who will be 30 this season and played a total of 11 snaps in 2024. The team drafted two receivers in the previous two drafts, so Deebo and Chris Conley’s roles will be filled by first and second-year wideouts.
Ricky Pearsall is expected to take a step forward, but the 49ers are more than equipped to move the ball if it takes time for Pearsall to get comfortable during his second season. The return of Christian McCaffrey takes the pressure off everyone.
The unknowns are on the defensive side of the ball. San Francisco needs their young players to play and do so at a high level out of the gate. That’s not an easy task, so Kyle Shanahan has long hesitated to rely on first-year players in general.
PFF questioned every team’s biggest weakness heading into training camp, and for the Niners, they wondered how much the rookies would improve a leaky defense from a year ago:
San Francisco 49ers: How much will rookies shore up the defense?
The 49ers endured an unexpectedly cruel 2024 season in many ways, finishing 6-11 due to a boatload of injuries. After extending Brock Purdy, George Kittle and Fred Warner, San Francisco will need to count on newcomers to restore a defense that ranked 19th in EPA per play.
General manager John Lynch attacked a weak front four with his first two picks in Mykel Williams (78.4 PFF overall grade) and Alfred Collins (87.2 PFF overall grade), each of whom is in line to start right away. Third-round pick Nick Martin (67.1 PFF overall grade) may also be thrust into starting duty next to Warner following Dre Greenlaw’s departure. Even Upton Stout (84.4 PFF overall grade) and C.J. West (88.1 PFF run-defense grade) may contribute in 2025, following in the footsteps of Renardo Green and Malik Mustapha last season.
Availability will be critical. That had to be a part of the thought process when the team released Javon Hargrave after he missed all but three games due to an unfortunate upper arm injury last year. The 49ers can’t afford for Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins, or C.J. West to miss time. Nick Martin and Upton Stout feel like they’re potential injury replacements, meaning the rotation for Robert Saleh will be younger than ever.
However, nobody is feeling sorry for the 49ers. This is the bed they made and the path they chose. Nick Bosa and Fred Warner will attempt to take as much pressure off the the inexperienced players.
Deommodore Lenoir, Ji’Ayir Brown, and Renardo Green could do Saleh a big favor in coverage while the rookies get assimilated to the NFL. Yetur Gross-Matos and Dee Winters staying off the inury report will be the ultimate wildcard.
There are several ways for the 49ers to be successful under Saleh in Year 1. Occam’s Razor says that’s with Mykel Williams and Alfred Collins hitting the ground running. They were drafted highly for a reason.
Are the 49ers putting too much pressure on their top 50 picks from this draft? Scroll down and let us know in the comments.