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The San Francisco 49ers are expected to be more of a player in free agency this offseason in comparison to last, where they prioritized spending cash on extending their core, while letting most of their key free agents walk.
The team does have a few needs, namely at wide receiver and defensive line, but also has seven draft picks in the 2026 NFL Draft to help bolster the roster. Last year, San Francisco made an effort to get younger as a team after being one of the older rosters in the NFL, and that philosophy could continue this offseason again.
But ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote that the 49ers are a sneaky contender for some of the top free agents at defensive line and wide receiver in his post-Combine notebook on Sunday.
“The 49ers are a sneaky contender for some of the good free agents along the defensive line and at wide receiver. They want a disruptive interior rusher to pair with Nick Bosa, for example,” Fowler wrote. “John Franklin-Myers is the top option there. At wideout, Green Bay’s Romeo Doubs is considered a good fit for San Francisco’s offense and a potential option, along with Minnesota’s Jalen Nailor.”
San Francisco could use an interior defensive lineman to work alongside 2025 draftees Alfred Collins and C.J. West. While both players showed promise as rookies, adding some more pass-rushing juice there would go a long way to bolstering the No. 32-ranked pass rush in the NFL in 2025.
An edge rusher would also make sense to complement Bosa, Mykel Williams, and Bryce Huff, but the 49ers don’t need to spend significant money at the position with the depth they have coming back.
Wide receiver, though, would be a position that makes sense to add a free agent. The 49ers have Jauan Jennings hitting the open market, and he might price himself out of San Francisco’s range. While they do have Ricky Pearsall back as a projected starter, the 49ers will need to fill the other two starting spots if Jennings departs.
One of those could be filled in free agency by a Doubs or Nailor, while the 49ers could target the other in what is looking to be a speedy draft for receivers. Speed is the biggest need for San Francisco on the boundary after their veteran options struggled with separation last year.
The 49ers have over $35 million in cap space at the moment, and that should rise before the new league year with some potential releases and an extension for Trent Williams to lower his $38 million cap hit for 2026. So, they’ll have some money to spend in free agency, and could very well be a sneaky contender for a top free agent.