The bulk of leaguewide reaction to the San Francisco 49ers' offseason probably isn't overly positive.
After all, in the wake of the Niners parting ways with a serious portion of their roster in an attempt to trim cash spending and to get younger, it'd be hard for most analysts and pundits to view the team's efforts in a favorable light.
That said, San Francisco's offseason extended beyond just player additions and subtractions. There were wholesale changes to the coaching staff, and the 49ers also made it a point to extend three of their top stars: quarterback Brock Purdy, tight end George Kittle and linebacker Fred Warner.
Looking at the greater picture, one ESPN analyst isn't critical of the Niners' offseason at all.
If anything, he's enthusiastic about it.
ESPN analyst bullish on 49ers' challenging offseason
ESPN's Seth Walder combed through all 32 teams' offseasons, dishing out grades and highlighting his favorite move for each.
One might think he'd give San Francisco a C-grade, at best, but that couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, Walder dished out an A-minus to the 49ers in light of everything that happened, breaking it down as follows:
Prior to free agency, the 49ers traded Deebo Samuel Sr. to the Commanders for a fifth-round pick. It was a year too late, though that's easy to say with the benefit of hindsight. Samuel's production has declined -- he recorded only 670 receiving yards and 1.8 yards per route run in 2024. He has always scored poorly in both open and catch score in ESPN's receiver tracking metrics, which didn't matter at his peak because he essentially broke the yards-after-catch score scale.
But his YAC score has steadily declined, and at age 29, I doubt it will ever reach its previous highs. The 49ers did well to get a Day 3 pick to avoid paying Samuel $17.6 million in 2025. They also have options to replace his production.
San Francisco also doled out big-money extensions to two more core players: linebacker Fred Warner and tight end George Kittle. The Niners paid Warner $21 million per year but without a ton of risk -- the deal features only $21 million fully guaranteed, per OverTheCap.com (there are rolling guarantees, however). Warner is worth it, and the extension comes in much lower in terms of average per year than his 2021 deal if we adjust for cap inflation.
Kittle also got a raise. He had been scheduled to earn $15 million in the final year of his contract, per OverTheCap.com, but instead the 49ers and Kittle agreed to an extension that averages $19 million per year with $35 million fully guaranteed. It would not have been outlandish to have traded the 31-year-old, but if things break right they 49ers will be back in the title hunt, and keeping Kittle -- coming off a great season -- would be my choice, too.
The 49ers suffered significant losses in free agency -- Aaron Banks, Charvarius Ward, Jaylon Moore, Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw -- but I thought most of these departures made sense for the team.
San Francisco also made a win-win trade for Bryce Huff, giving up a Day 3 pick for the former Jets and Eagles pass rusher. The 49ers are paying Huff a little under $8 million to find out if they can recapture some of his New York magic.
Walder also highlighted how reuniting with former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh was a brilliant move, ensuring San Francisco's substantially down year on defense won't continue in the wake of serious roster turnover.
And while the ESPN pundit had no problem pointing out his least-favorite move for other teams, he circled "none" when evaluating the 49ers.
So, from that vantage point, it's clear not everyone feels as poorly about what the Niners went through leading up to 2025's kickoff.
