NFL1000: San Francisco 49ers 2017 NFL Draft Preview

Finishing with a 2-14 record in 2016the franchise's worst mark since 2004meant that serious change was inevitable for the San Francisco 49ers. The organization fired head coach Chip Kelly and general manager Trent Baalke at season's end, and quarterback Colin Kaepernick opted out of his contract in March. There's a positive for new head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, though. After five horrid drafts by Baalke, the pair have a clean slate and some organizational patienceboth received six-year contracts.The team passed on most major free agents, leaving itself a league-leading $76.5 million in cap space, per Over the Cap.It's clear the 49ers view this as a long-term rebuild, which it should be. Baalke's whiffs in the draft over the last half-decade leave the franchise as talent-bereft as any, and there's no obvious immediate replacement for Kaepernick.Clearly, quarterback has to be the team's priority. Shanahan is rightly lauded as a genius when it comes to making the most of his pieces on offense, but this would be a challenge for even three-time Super Bowl champion Bill Walsh. The Niners acquired wide receivers Pierre Garcon and Marquise Goodwin in free agency, which at least gives the team's next quarterback a high-volume possession receiver and a relatively decent deep threat. But the offensive line is a problem outside of left tackle Joe Staley and newly acquired center Jeremy Zuttah. And with the exception of 26-year-old running back Carlos Hyde, San Francisco doesn't have any real blue-chip young prospects on that side of the ball.On defense' Things are even worse. San Francisco allowed 4.8 yards per carry and 25 rushing touchdowns, both league-worst marks, and its pass defense wasn't much better (tied for 27th-worst in average yards allowed per play). The Niners still have a good group of linebackers, and 2016 first-round lineman DeForest Buckner appears to be a stud in the making. But the secondary needs a near-total overhaul.Shanahan and Lynch do have that clean slate, but it may be a while before the 49ers resemble a decent team againnever mind a competitive one.Begin Slideshow
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