Top 10 Free Agent Targets For The 49ers

Keanu Neal is a former first round pick who hit the ground running as a rookie. He was a prominent player for the Atlanta Falcons that were a half away from winning the Super Bowl. Neal has seen his play seemingly take a step back along with the rest of the Atlanta Falcons team.

A factor that you can't deny is the connection to Kyle Shanahan from his time as offensive coordinator with the Falcons. Kyle has shown a tendency to bring in players that he has working relationships with from previous stops.

Neal didn't put up a great year in 2020 ranking 33/94 graded safeties but at 25 years old, there is still time to salvage Neal's once promising career at a price that could fit into future plans. He had a top 5 pass rush grade (safeties) and played 484 snaps in the box, which is similarly to how the 49ers have historically used their strong safeties in the past.

I envision him as a cost-effective, low-risk/high-reward signing who could fill in for Tartt, pending him leaving in free agency.

9) Slot CB - Mike Hilton

With the feeling that K'Waun Williams could take his talents elsewhere, the 49ers would need to find a suitable replacement for the dynamic slot corner who has been extremely impactful for the 49ers defense since 2017.

When I watch the 27 year old slot corner from Pittsburg, I see a lot of the same grittiness that fans grew to love in K'Waun Williams. In the past the 49ers have relied on many nickel corner blitz's, bringing K'Waun off the edge frequently. In 2020, Hilton had a 76.7 pass rush grade which would rank 2nd out of 22 eligible CB's.

As a slot corner, Hilton has no issue playing larger than his measurable's would indicate - he's a very aggressive tackler. Hilton has the edge to fill a big need in our scheme, if the 49ers look to build off of Saleh's defensive blueprint from the 2019 season.

Two back to back Steelers in my rankings you say? Not only are these good individual players but them come from a defensive philosophy that requires a certain type of mentality and would love some of that on the 49ers in 2021.

Bud Dupree is more intriguing to me than anything after a pretty poor year by PFF grading standards, turning in a ranking of 76th of 109 players. To be fair, Bud has not graded out well for the majority of his career but his impact is felt more on the field than in the numbers and statistical analysis.

After playing on the franchise tag last season and not getting a new contract, there is some hope that he can potentially be had on a one-year prove it deal. Clearly he has upside and coming to a team like the Niners defense which needs a Big End/Leo EDGE for the scheme, he could slot right in. Balling out on a one-year deal would allow him to maximize value as the cap is expected to go back up in 2022. Based on this thought process, I like his potential fit with the 49ers.

(shoutout to @49ersfocus/IG for planting the seed)

Tarell Basham is someone I've always kept on eye on since he was selected out of Ohio University in the third round by the Colts. Unfortunately, he was never really able to get any playing time with the Colts which lead to his eventual cut.

The Jets claimed the young EDGE player off waivers and were able to get solid production out of a guy who was tossed to the curb. In 2019, Basham finally got to see some consistent snaps and turned in a year that had him graded 31st out of 104 total edge defenders. He didn't grade out as high in 2020 but was able to secure a ranking 16 spots ahead of Bud Dupree.

I see a guy who also fits the need as a pass rusher but can also play base downs. Due to his up and down career thus far, I'd assume you could get him on somewhat of a bargain and could be a great depth/potential starter for the 49ers.

This would be more of a luxury pick than anything else, depending on the situation surrounding All-Pro offensive tackle Trent Williams. If the 49ers do indeed part ways with Williams, Linsley could be a pivot to help bolster the strength of the interior line immediately.

Linsley would bring with him the top ranking out of all centers with an 84.6 grade via PFF in 2020. For reference, after being thrust into playing center for the first time, 49ers Daniel Brunskill ranked 24th at center in 2020. In my opinion, that's pretty solid considering the circumstances Brunskill faced but if there is an oppertunity to sure up the center position, Linsley is the number one option.

This move would allow Brunskill to go back to his natural position at Guard and would bring much needed cohesion. Playing in Matt LaFleur's offense in Green Bay, Linsley already understand the Kyle Shanahan zone scheme and philosophies and could immediately operate within the offense. A natural scheme fit but he will come at a cost.

PFF projects the top ranked center to command a 3 yrs — $11m avg/yr contract with $16.5m guaranteed, $33m total. I bit pricy, we'll see if they opt to pay another high priced free agent center i.e. Weston Richburg.

Having Curtis Samuel on the 49ers would just be fun. One of the more criminally underrated players int he league, he would be great to pair with YAC Bro's: Deebo - Aiyuk - Kittle.

It feels like the Panthers were finally able to properly utilize Samuel to his strengths as he put up 77 receptions on 93 targets, compiling 851 receiving yards and 3 TD. Samuel walked away with the highest catch rate in 2020 at 83%.

The most intriguing stat line for me was what he did as a rusher: 41 carries for 200 yards and 2 TD for a solid 4.9 yards a clip. I could easily see the 49ers passing on him if the price is too high. There are plenty of these "Curtis Samuel' style WRs in this upcoming draft class, whether it's UCLA Demetric Felton or Ole Miss Elijah Moore and so on.

Samuel however has been in the league and proven he can be productive. Regardless of the name, the payer archetype is what is most intriguing and would love to see this style of player in Shanahan's offense.

Most 49ers' fans may remember Yannick Ngakoue when the 49ers beat the top ranked Jags at Levi's on Christmas Eve back in 2017 when Yannick was the 18th highest-rated edge defender in the NFL by PFF. He has since bounced around the league after falling out of favor with Jacksonville and then was traded twice in just one year.

The Last team he played with (Ravens) chose not to bring him back either. So this pick could be perceived as a bit of a risk but my good friend Jordan Elliott (@Splash_cousin/Twitter) has been championing why Ngakoue could find a home in the Bay Area and he makes great points.

At 25 years old, Yannick still has an oppertunity to re-invent his career and could do that in the 49ers wide-9 scheme. Yannick has shown he can be dominate on a good defense so maybe the West Coast can provide him a fresh start. The hope here is also to get him on a cost-effective "prove it" it type deal.

With the complete unknown of who will actually be returning to the 49ers secondary (Verrett, K'Waun, Tartt, Witherspoon could all be gone), I have my eyes set on a shiny new CB that will allow the 49ers to stick to the BPA formula (Best Player Available) for the upcoming draft.

William Jackson came shooting out the gates with the 4th highest-graded season by all CBs in his first full season (missed rookie year with torn pectoral). The former 1st round pick looked like a future super-star at the position but has tapered off a bit, finishing last season as the 20th highest-graded CB.

The only way this selection works is if it's on a manageable deal for the 49ers. The hope would be to take advantage of the dip in production and get him on a decent deal. I can't see the 49ers paying full market value, but Williams on a bargain could be an extremely intriguing option for the defense.

It would be a lot of fun to steal away a division rivals captain to put next to Jimmie Ward to lock up the backend on the defense. He dealt with injury throughout the 2020 season but was still able to put up the 3rd highest-ranked grade by all safeties.

If Johnson heads up north to the Bay Area, the defense gets one of the better cover players in the league to pair up with Jimmie Ward. The combination of both Ward and Johnson's skillsets could lead to more diverse looks from a schematic standpoint because both players are so good in coverage and have extremely good athletic traits.

Johnson put up 4 consecutive seasons with a coverage grade of 84.9 and was the 3rd highest-graded in 2020. The 49ers could have the best lockdown tandem at safety in the league with this addition. The draft is not deep with safety talent so they team could very well look to replace Tartt in free agency, if that's the route they decide to go.

Carl Lawson is one of the crown jewels of this class and should be atop any list of teams looking for edge help. Being only 25 year old and being an upper tier edge player, he should command a decent amount of interest.

Lawson was the 8th best pass rusher in the NFL according to PFF as he recorded 6 sacks in 2020. The main thing the 49ers would be looking to pull from Lawson is his contributions to the pass rush and that is Lawson's best attribute, in my opinion.

He has a full bag of pass rush moves whether is the the cross-chop, stab, rip or a combination of a few -- Lawson knows how to get after the passer with the best of them. He will likely demand a decent pay day so the likely-hood of this signing is low, however he would be great to have opposite of Nick Bosa and again opens up flexibility in the draft.