Matt Williamson: Positives few and far between for 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers had very few players with expiring contracts. They had no stars that could be leaving. They did have two prominent players in Ian Williams and Alex Boone that are in the prime of their careers and could have been locked up. San Francisco accomplished that with Williams, but Boone is now playing for the Vikings. Oh, and the 49ers also have an awful lot of money to spend under the salary cap yet haven’t added a soul to one of the league’s worst rosters.

Remember when Chip Kelly took over in Philadelphia? He made a lot of moves quickly to bring in “His guys” that fit his fast-paced system. Well, that hasn’t been the case at all yet in the Bay Area. And that may have something to do with the fact that, outside of Cleveland, this has turned into one of the worst franchises to play for in the NFL and they’re helmed by a coach that several former players are claiming was difficult to play for.

This roster needs a lot of work and that conversation in its entirety would require a lot of time and nuance So let’s look at this team a different way: What is there to build on and get excited about? That is a much shorter conversation.

Well, as stated above, the 49ers have a lot of cap room. Rules say that they have to use a large portion of it. So there will be free agent additions. Obviously the top guys that were on the market are no longer available. But, there will be additions coming nonetheless. So, this roster will start to look better in some, way, shape or form in the next few weeks.

That leads us to the draft. That is something to get excited about, right? San Francisco owns the seventh pick in the first round and absolutely must land a foundation piece at just about any position in that spot and with their early picks in each subsequent round. It seems safe to say that the 49ers should not be pigeonholed into looking at just one or two positions in this draft and should take the smart approach of just taking the top guy on their board (more or less) in every round.

As we are about to discuss, there are a few spots that this team doesn’t need. But more than anything, this is a franchise that is very short on difference makers or foundational pieces to build on. Another promising aspect of not only picking high in each round is that San Francisco has plenty of extra picks, something Trent Baalke has done well to acquire over his time with the 49ers. Including compensatory picks, San Francisco has an extra fourth, two extra fifths and four additional sixth-round picks. So an infusion of youth is coming.

And then you have the quarterback position. Yes, we were only going to stress the positive with this roster, but maybe the 49ers grab Jared Goff or Carson Wentz with that seventh overall pick and begin the transformation of their downtrodden team much lik Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Jacksonville and Oakland managed in recent years. Finding the next Winston/Mariota/Bortles/Carr absolutely has to be priority No. 1 for the Niners.

That’s easier said than done, of course, (ask the Browns) and it’s hard to pin down what it is that Chip Kelly wants out of his quarterback. We know he wants an efficient player  who works with pace and makes quick decisions. We know that he also wants a guy that can consistently take shots downfield and stretch the defense. We think he would prefer a running quarterback. Blaine Gabbert actually does have some of these qualities and maybe Kelly is quietly excited about the 26-year-old that was once the 10th pick overall in the 2011 draft. Unfortunately, predicting the Colin Kaepernick situation/fit with San Francisco seems like an exercise in futility right now.

Kaepernick seems to want out, but you would think that Kelly’s offense would accentuate his strengths, while possibly minimizing his great weaknesses. From where I sit, I absolutely don’t have the answer to what has become a complex question, but if the decision makers that truly matter for the 49ers’ future don’t get it right ASAP, this team has no chance.

Quarterback aside, what else is there for this organization to hang its hat on in terms of their roster? It’s actually not all doom and gloom, but of course a lot more work needs done.

Kelly will want an offensive line that moves extremely well and doesn’t tire easy in his fast-paced system. That isn’t what was here before, as the 49ers prefer size and power over the attributes Kelly looks for, which is why they most likely let Boone walk, although he did seem anxious to leave. Joe Staley is one of the top offensive tackles of this generation and should remain a constant no matter the system. Anthony Davis could return from his mini retirement. Clearly he fits the old system better than the new, but he is also a massive upgrade at right tackle over what this team played with last year. The interior of the offensive line needs a lot of work.

The 49ers do have a lead back in Carlos Hyde. One of the most underrated players in the league, Hyde possesses true lead back traits as a ball carrier and also as a receiver. He can be a star and also fits Kelly’s system well and thrived with similar principles at Ohio State. Hyde now has to be the foundation of this offense. Depth behind Hyde is adequate and Mike Davis is intriguing.

The receivers are far from perfect, but hopefully Kelly’s system gets Torrey Smith back to doing the one thing he does well: Get deep. This team also has some intriguing young guys in Bruce Ellington and DeAndre Smelter.

The defense has some pieces in place, as well, and is especially strong at the safety position. Antoine Bethea has played well in a 49ers uniform and Eric Reid is a well above average starter. Jaquiski Tartt looks like that new breed of big safety that more or less transforms into a linebacker, much like divisional rivals Mark Barron and Deone Bucannon. Jimmie Ward is also a wild card in the back-end that is the polar opposite on the safety spectrum from Tartt, but is very versatile nonetheless.

We said that we would stress the positive, so there isn’t much to say about the 49ers’ cornerbacks. A lot of work needs done at this position.

The front seven has a few pieces in Williams, Navarro Bowman and Aaron Lynch. Ahmad Brooks’ future is uncertain, but he has been productive and could still be a contributor next year if he isn’t released for cap room… and San Francisco doesn’t exactly need cap room. There are a few other pieces that could be primed to step up in San Francisco’s front seven, but it isn’t an overly ambitious group overall.

For the 49ers, there is a lot of work to be done here and there should still be plenty of additions coming in free agency and the draft. Hopefully those additions are more hits than misses.

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