The San Francisco 49ers have some work to do at the top of their depth chart after an offseason that’s seen them lose nine starters through trade, release and free agency.
While losing a glut of talent all at once is jarring, the 49ers are in a decent spot to fill vacated starting roles at a handful of positions. Their upcoming draft is going to be key, and finding starters there would be preferred, but they don’t necessarily need to fill each hole in their lineup with a 2025 NFL draft selection.
Here are our predictions for who will replace each starter the 49ers have lost through the early portion of the offseason:
LB Dre Greenlaw
Predicted replacement: Dee Winters
The 49ers could also go with a draft pick or second-year LB Tatum Bethune. A dark horse candidate is Winters’ fellow 2023 draft pick, Jalen Graham, who re-signed with San Francisco this offseason.
S Talanoa Hufanga
Predicted replacement: Ji’Ayir Brown
Safety is an intriguing spot to keep an eye on for the 49ers. Brown has the inside track to start alongside Malik Mustapha. They signed Jason Pinnock and Richie Grant to low-level free agent contracts. They’ll be in the mix for a starting job, and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the 49ers use a draft pick at the position as well.
CB Charvarius Ward
Predicted replacement: Draft pick
Deommodore Lenoir and Renardo Green figure to hold down two of the top three CB spots. Green may wind up kicking outside and technically “replacing” Ward. The 49ers agreed to a deal with former Seattle Seahawks CB Tre Brown in free agency, and claimed CB Tre Tomlinson off waivers before the legal negotiating window opened. Darrell Luter Jr. is also still lingering on the roster. They’ll get opportunities to start as well.
LG Aaron Banks
Predicted replacement: Ben Bartch
There’s a chance the 49ers use a draft pick on a player who lands as the starting left guard, but Bartch is the pick for now since he was the No. 2 left guard last season. Spencer Burford is a name to keep an eye on as well. He was better last year as a reserve on the left side than he was when he was holding down the starting right guard job.
DL Javon Hargrave
Predicted replacement: Draft pick
The 49ers don’t have enough bodies on the interior defensive line. Jordan Elliott could conceivably start, but we’re projecting an early draft pick or two gets spent on defensive linemen who can nail down a starting job.
DL Maliek Collins
Predicted replacement: Evan Anderson
This is a little out of left field, but Anderson was impressive in 12 games as an undrafted rookie last year. He logged 13 tackles, two tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks. Pro Football Focus also had him down for 13 run stops, the second-highest mark among interior defensive linemen on the 49ers, and the third-highest mark in the NFL among interior DL who played fewer than 300 snaps.
DL Leonard Floyd
Predicted replacement: Draft pick
Unless Robert Beal or Yetur Gross-Matos make a significant leap, or the 49ers make an out-of-nowhere offseason splash, the DE spot opposite Nick Bosa will need to pinned down by a first-year player. There’s a chance Gross-Matos is technically the “starter,” but he can’t be a primary edge defender if the 49ers are serious about contending in 2025.
FB Kyle Juszczyk
Predicted replacement: Luke Farrell
The writing was on the wall for Juszczyk when they signed Farrell, who has primarily been a versatile blocker throughout his four-year NFL career. He may not get used exactly like Juszczyk, but he figures to fill a similar role in the offense.
WR Deebo Samuel
Predicted replacement: Jauan Jennings
The 49ers won’t be able to replace Samuel’s specific skill set. Teams have tried and failed for six years to do that. Jennings is the frontrunner to line up as a starter alongside Brandon Aiyuk once Aiyuk is healthy, though. The 2020 seventh-round pick proved himself as a legitimate No. 2 option last season. Second-year WR Ricky Pearsall will also be in the mix for WR snaps.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers depth chart: Predicting replacements for 9 starters lost
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