49ers Return to Building a Middle Class
The 49ers made the Super Bowl on star power, relying on the starters to deliver for a roster of haves and have-nots that lacked the role players in-between. On the first day of free agency, the Niners returned to an old path, a more balanced approach to restore a middle class.
Leonard Floyd agreed to a two-year deal for $20 million with another $4 million in incentives. Yetur Gross-Matos agreed to a two-year deal worth $18 million. The 49ers have also signed special teams star George Odum to a two-year deal worth up to $10 million with incentives.
Fans were hoping for a home run swing at edge to land Danielle Hunter. This is the first instance where the elephant in the room – Brock Purdy’s upcoming extension – may have driven a roster decision.
Floyd and Gross-Matos were both signed to two-year deals, Hunter is looking for at least a three-year contract. Purdy will be extended at the end of this upcoming season. The contract will be heavily backloaded but still needs to be accounted for in cap management.
In theory, Hunter could have been given a deal heavily loaded in the second year, but that can cause team cap impacts of its own.
Leonard Floyd
The Floyd acquisition shows the influence of recent arrival Assistant Head Coach Brandon Staley. Floyd is one of his favorite chess pieces and Staley has had great success with defenses utilizing Floyd at the point of attack.
The Niners remember the damage Floyd caused the last time he faced them with the Rams in 2022. A team-high nine tackles, two sacks, three quarterback hits, and two tackles for loss.
Floyd excelled as part of a five-man front, which Staley may utilize when working with defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen in forming game plans. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave also shined in a five-man front with Philadelphia.
Floyd will be 32 when the season begins. At Buffalo, he played 54% of the snaps with a focus on passing downs. With the Rams, Floyd was a capable run defender. The Niners will need to evaluate if Floyd can return to his larger role in the recent past or if he'll need to be used more as a designated pass rusher now.
Yetur Gross-Matos
In 2020 the Niners were interested in drafting Gross-Matos coming out of Penn State, where he had 17 sacks and 35 tackles for loss in his final two seasons.
That potential wasn’t realized in Carolina, though Pro Football Focus named him their most improved Panther in 2023. PFF graded him at 65 against the run and the pass. Gross-Matos had two of his 4.5 sacks this season in his final two games. His play improved as a standup pass-rushing linebacker in a 3-4.
Watching the tape, Gross-Matos uses his long arms effectively and closes well, but needs to add to his pass-rush moves and do a better job of shedding blocks. The Niners are betting that defensive line coach Kris Kocurek can shape the 6-5/265 ball of clay into a productive contributor.
What‘s the plan at defensive tackle?
With edge addressed, the Niners turn their attention to the interior defensive line, needing to add two players after Javon Kinlaw signed with the Jets.
The hope was that Denver would release former 49er D.J. Jones, but the Broncos have yet to do so, choosing to go with restructuring moves to clear cap room.
D.J. Reader is the best available, but Spotrac projects his market value at $14.9 million per year. Detroit has been linked to him and has the cap room.
Sheldon Rankins of Houston is about to turn 30 in a few days, he has a projected market value of $9.9 million. Austin Johnson of the Chargers, Brian Mone of Seattle, Tim Settle of Buffalo, and Teair Tart of Houston are the next tier.
In the draft, Jer’Zhan Newton of Illinois is a possibility, projected from 23 to 31. He’s 6-2/304, explosive with a high motor, but his lack of length is a concern with sub-33 arms. 43 pressures, 8 sacks, and a pass rush win rate over 15%.
The Niners can also look at Missouri’s Darius Robinson in the first, an inside-outside hybrid that is stout against the run and can rush the passer. However, he lacks explosion running the slowest 10-yard split of the class at 1.73 and he can stay blocked. Productive stats, good size at 6-5/285 with length.
Additional targets can include T’Vondre Sweat of Texas, but at 366 pounds the Niners normally don’t go for giants. Ruke Ohrororo of Clemson tested well but lacks technique and production. Michigan’s Kris Jenkins is powerful and athletic but needs to add moves and technique. Braden Fiske ran exceptionally well but doesn’t maintain leverage and he lacks moves.
The player to keep an eye on is 6-5/306 Maason Smith of LSU, the Niners had a formal interview with him in Indy. An athletic tackle who plays with physicality and explosion, he has great length with 35-inch arms but needs technique work on maintaining leverage and developing pass-rush moves. He’s projected as an early 3rd round pick, so the Niners would need to take him at 63 or move back slightly.
