The San Francisco 49ers are oh-so-close.
The Bay Area franchise hasn’t won a super bowl since 1994, but head coach Kyle Shanahan has it knocking on the doorstep, as San Francisco has played in three of the past four NFC championship games.
The odds in Las Vegas currently predict that the 49ers will reach the final four yet again, as many of the core members of this team are amongst the league’s best at their respective positions, such as Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa, and Fred Warner.
The blueprint for pushing San Francisco over the hump might just involve General Manager John Lynch taking a page out of a division rival’s playbook. After falling to New England in the Super Bowl, the Rams added Pro-Bowlers Jalen Ramsey, Matthew Stafford, and Von Miller over the next few seasons. The moves certainly cost Los Angeles as it traded away every first-round pick from 2019 to 2023, but given its home Super Bowl win over Cincinnati in 2021, many would argue the acquisitions paid off.
San Francisco, while seemingly built to compete for this upcoming season and beyond, has demonstrated that it’s not afraid to take a risk, evident by the front office move to trade up for young quarterback Trey Lance. And despite the injury debacle that ended the 2022 season in Philadelphia this past year, it appears the 49ers are happy with their quarterback situation. Many assume that the camp winner between Brock Purdy and Trey Lance, both 23, offers a higher ceiling than oft-injured Jimmy Garoppolo. The addition of Sam Darnold adds the insurance and confidence that Shanahan is set to finally take the next step with his offense.
Three Trade Targets for the San Francisco 49ers
Here are three trade candidates, outside of quarterback, that San Francisco could look at between June and the trade deadline.
OT Brian O’Neill
Vikings OT Brian O’Neill (75) – Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY
The most significant question mark on the 49ers is certainly at Right Tackle, where, at the moment, San Francisco is looking to trot out one of Matt Pryor, Colton McKivitz, or Jaylon Moore. While Mike McGlinchey never lived up to his first-round selection as a 49er, fans and the front office at least knew what his abilities and limitations were.
If San Francisco wants to inquire about O’Neill, the 27-year-old could turn the team’s weakest unit into a strength. The tandem of Williams and O’Neill would give Shanahan’s offense arguably the top book-end tackle combination in the league.
Minnesota, who just moved on from Pro-Bowl running back Dalvin Cook, might just be realizing how tenuous its 2022 success was and decide to sell high on the 6-foot-7, 310-pound O’Neill, who already has 72 starts under his belt.
LB Devin White
Buccaneers LB Devin White (45) Kevin Sabitus Getty Images
With new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks at the helm, the 49ers’ defense is sure to undergo a few tweaks despite Wilks’s promise not to tinker too much with DeMeco Ryans’s league-leading squad. One adaptation Wilks might employ in his heavy zone-blitz scheme is the utilization of a third, versatile linebacker in addition to playing Nickel packages. Enter White, who led the Bucs to a 2021 Super Bowl victory and has made his intentions known on testing free agency after the upcoming season. Tampa may be dreadful in the post-Tom Brady era, and an offer to earn draft capital for White might be intriguing.
From San Francisco’s perspective, the 25-year-old White can provide experienced depth to a position that doesn’t have any or possibly unseat starter Dre Greenlaw adjacent to the Pro-Bowler Warner.
LB Patrick Queen
Linebacker Patrick Queen (6) – Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
Baltimore has made it known that Queen is available for the right deal when they declined to exercise his 5th-year option. Like White, Queen starred at LSU and possessed above-average athleticism for the position. Baltimore’s hesitation to invest in him long-term puzzles some as his game mirrors that of Carolina’s Shaq Thompson, who thrived under Wilks recently.
The addition of a quality linebacker not only greatly improves the depth of the position, but with the 49ers just one turned ankle away from Javon Kinlaw controlling the interior defensive line, any upgrade between the tackles on defense will only be beneficial.
