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The 49ers Rank 18th in Post-Free-Agency NFL Power Rankings

The 49ers didn't actually try to make their roster better in free agency.

Grant Cohn

Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (right) and head coach Kyle Shanahan (left) look on the in second half against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images
Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (right) and head coach Kyle Shanahan (left) look on the in second half against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images / Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images
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The 49ers didn't actually try to make their roster better in free agency.

They let every starting-caliber free agent walk and signed a bunch of backups. And they did this mostly to save money.

They also want to get younger, and they have a whopping 11 draft picks this year. That's where they'll attempt to find cost-efficient starters who can make in impact right away.

That's why despite the 49ers' dramatic loss of talent, NFL.com's Eric Edholm still ranks them 18th among 32 NFL teams -- near the middle of the pack.

"In just the first week of the new year," writes Edholm, "the 49ers have lost Jaylon Moore and Aaron Banks on the offensive line, Talanoa Hufanga and Charvarius Ward in the secondary, Dre Greenlaw and Javon Hargrave in the front seven, offensive chess piece Deebo Samuel and others. All while adding mostly reserves on lower-end contracts.

"San Francisco has four picks in the top 100, including the 11th overall selection, plus two fourth-rounders, but that draft currency is only going to bear so much fruit in Year 1. It's arguable that no other NFC West team has dramatically upgraded its roster so far, but it's beyond a stretch to suggest that the Niners have gained ground on the rest of the division after a last-place finish.

"A star-focused nucleus and Kyle Shanahan's wizardry remain in place to fall back on, but the lack of talent/depth at certain positions is a bit scary for now."

That "star-focused nucleus" which consists of Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle, is getting pretty old. Plus, it's unclear how much Brandon Aiyuk will play this year.

In addition, Shanahan didn't seem to have much "wizardry" last season without McCaffrey playing like Superman.

All things considered, this ranking is generous.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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