Your daily San Francisco 49ers links for Tuesday, February 27, 2024
John Lynch speaks today.
49ers great Gore offers NFL draft scouting report on his son
In an exclusive interview with the Bay Area News Group’s Cam Inman, Gore detailed his latest scouting report: On his son, Frank Gore Jr.
“Very good football player,” Gore told Inman. “Tough. Great eyes. Great feet. He’s going to do whatever it takes that the team that drafts him made the right decision. He’s got top-end speed. Some days he can go, some days he won’t.
“Great vision. Great heart. Stronger than what people think. But a good football player, man.”
The 49ers haven’t had an impactful defensive end opposite of Nick Bosa since 2019 with Dee Ford. Every year they have struggled to find it. Drake Jackson was supposed to be the guy there, but it is pretty clear now that he will never get there. That means the 49ers have to roll up their sleeves and get to grinding it out on pass rushers at the scouting combine this week to finally find someone adequate.
If the 49ers can find that “Robin” to Bosa’s “Batman” then the 49ers will be cooking up some serious heat on defense. They are already a threatening unit as it is. Another strong edge rusher will only increase how lethal they are. Players like Alabama’s Chris Baswell, Penn State’s Adisa Isaac, and Washington’s Bralen Trice could be a start for the 49ers this week.
He definitely is good, but he wasn’t great in the playoffs. And when he faced good defenses that could play man-to-man coverage — Cleveland, Kansas City — he struggled.
Purdy’s best attribute as a passer is his ability to throw with anticipation, which makes him deadly against zone coverage, because he can throw to spots before his receivers break.
Against man-to-man coverage, Purdy has to pick up a matchup he likes and fire the ball to a receiver who’s tightly covered. In this case, anticipation isn’t nearly as important as arm talent, which Purdy lacks.
Spotrac projects a three-year, $14.66 million deal for Bourne. Essentially, it’s the same deal as what the Patriots just paid him. If Bourne is able to hit numbers close to his 2021 season, that’s tremendous value for that level of pay.
It’s also worth mentioning that Bourne may actually end up being cheaper than Jauan Jennings despite Jennings having produced far less. Due to Jennings being a restricted free agent, San Francisco will either have to match other teams’ contract offers or extend him outright.
What Jennings wants out of his next contract is the first step. But if the 26-year-old receiver does want a change of pace, Bourne is probably a safe, cheap bet as a replacement.
Jets to release OL Laken Tomlinson, 49ers should try to sign him
There’s also the issue of Tomlinson’s play the last couple of seasons. In two years with the Jets Tomlinson struggled as a run blocker and wasn’t great in pass protection. In five years with the 49ers he never allowed more than 39 pressures. Last season with New York he gave up 51 pressures and seven sacks per Pro Football Focus.
However, a return to San Francisco might get him back on track. Tomlinson was a Pro Bowl guard by the time he left Kyle Shanahan’s system. The 49ers only let him walk because he earned a free agency deal beyond what they were able to afford.
Restock the line. That seems to be the consensus for what the 49ers should do with their first-round pick.
But which line, an offensive line that saw key breakdowns in the Super Bowl or a defensive line that will have six active-roster players heading to free agency next month?
Some of the top prospects to watch on that side of the ball are big-bodied Missouri defensive end Darius Robinson, who is coming off a strong performance in the Senior Bowl, and a quick-twitch defensive tackle, Illinois’ Jer’Zhan Newton.
Offensive linemen? If the 49ers are desperate at right tackle, they could trade up for Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton, who’d be a good fit in San Francisco’s run game.