The San Francisco 49ers closed the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the NFL, closing the year on a five-game winning streak with Jimmy Garoppolo as their starting quarterback. Thanks to the NFL's rules on rolling over unused cap space, the 49ers have the most cap space in the NFL with $114.1 million. San Francisco believes they have a chance at winning the NFC West and don't be surprised to see the 49ers spend a ton of money this offseason.
Here are four players the 49ers will target in free agency:
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1.) Malcolm Butler, CB New England Patriots
The 49ers finished the season with the 9th ranked pass defense and will look to improve in 2018. Malcolm Butler collected only $3.9 million from New England in 2017, but should be expecting something in the range of $12-14 million annually on his new deal. Butler in 2017 had 60 combined tackles, 12 PBU's, three FFs, two INTs, and one sack.
2.) Jerick McKinnon, RB, Minnesota Vikings
At this point in his career, Carlos Hyde has proven he's not a bell-cow back, and the team may be willing to let him walk in free agency with a loaded draft class at running back. Still, in their quest for more offensive weapons, they'll likely give McKinnon a look. He's an explosive athlete (the kind of back the 49ers haven't had in a while) and is an excellent receiver out of the backfield, catching 94 passes combined over the past two seasons.
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3.) Andrew Norwell, OG, Carolina Panthers
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The offensive line is arguably San Francisco's biggest weakness or area that needs to improve. Keeping Garoppolo upright and comfortable in the pocket is one of the 49ers' biggest keys to success in 2018, and they weren't great at it last year. According to Football Outsiders, San Francisco's offensive line ranked in the bottom half of the league and gave up a sack on nearly seven percent of dropbacks. Norwell figures to be one of the best interior linemen available and would be a great start at fixing that line.
4.) Allen Robinson, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
Allen Robinson tore his ACL in 2017 and will enter his fifth year in the NFL in 2018 at age 24. Robinson had an incredible 2015, leading the NFL in touchdown receptions with 14. Marquise Goodwin and Trent Taylor have proven to be quality wideouts that should be major factors in San Francisco's offense next season, but let's not kid ourselves - the 49ers are still without a true top option at the position.
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