The Athletic Ranks the 49ers Among the NFL’s Biggest Offseason Losers

Even though the 49ers lost the Super Bowl, they didn’t think they could improve this offseason, so their goal was to not get worse.

The 49ers think they accomplished their goal. The Athletic thinks their goal wasn’t aggressive enough.

“After a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, the 49ers had a relatively quiet offseason,” writes Mike Jones of The Athletic. “They gave Christian McCaffrey an extension and drafted Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who might not be ready for prime time until 2025. The offensive line could’ve used a bolster, but John Lynch made no significant additions. Perhaps the most notable departure was defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, whose philosophies never quite meshed with those of Kyle Shanahan. Can first-year defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen reignite a defense that lost Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw and added Leonard Floyd, Yetur Gross-Matos and Jordan Elliott?”

Jones summed up the 49ers’ offseason well. They blamed Steve Wilks for most of their issues and banked on Nick Sorensen and Brandon Staley to make the defense elite again even though Sorensen has never been a coordinator and Staley gave up 63 points to the Raiders last season. So we’ll have to see how effective this duo will be.

On the other side of the ball, the offensive line is still an issue no matter how many times the 49ers say it isn’t a problem. Third-round pick Dominick Puni shouldn’t be expected to step in immediately and start at right guard — he’s a rookie who never has played that position. He’s a project.

And yet, the 49ers still have arguably the best roster in the NFL. Their biggest issue is their head coach, Kyle Shanahan, who can’t beat Andy Reid to save his life.