Matt Barrows: 49ers mailbag: With DeForest Buckner in, who’s the odd man out on the D-line?“I think the preferred base-down defensive line would be: Nick Bosa, DeForest Buckner, Osa Odighizuwa and Keion White, with Mykel Williams, Gracen Halton and Romello Height in the mix. Of course, the beauty of the Buckner trade is that it will allow the 49ers to rotate more extensively. As it stands now, Buckner ranks third at his position with 353 defensive snaps and Odighizuwa fourth at 345 snaps. Both ought
to be playing at a less furious pace from this point on.
After those seven, the 49ers usually have one more defensive lineman in uniform on game day and two more on the active roster. My guess is that the eighth spot would go to James Thompson Jr., but it also might be Sebastian Valdez or CJ West, depending on who looks better that particular week.
Khalid Kareem appears to be the odd man out. But remember, the 49ers can take their time in bringing West back from injured reserve. And it’s entirely possible one or more of the others suffers an injury in the interim….Josh Sweat fits the mold of a Raheem Morris edge player, although the Cardinals would have to eat some dead money if they trade him. The Buccaneers’ Yaya Diaby might make more sense as he’s in the final year of his rookie contract. Diaby had a formal visit to Santa Clara before the 2023 draft. The Jets’ Will McDonald IV also stands out. He’s on a 2-5 team and plays a position at which New York has other young, ascending players.”
Kyle Posey : Should the 49ers offer the Jets a Jeffery Simmons deal for Garrett Wilson?
”The Jets will incur a dead cap if they trade Wilson. According to Over the Cap, trading Wilson would cost $6.75 million in dead money through 2029 and $4 million in 2030. Jets fans will cite that as a primary reason the Jets won’t part ways with their budding star receiver.
There’s the other side of the coin: the cap space you save. You’d save $16.5 million in 2027, and over $29 million during the next two years….I could clip together Wilson running out routes where he breaks the cornerbacks’ ankles, releases off the line of scrimmage with the defensive back hopping the opposite direction of Wilson, or him making acrobatic catches down the field. There isn’t a route Wilson can’t run.
Wilson becomes the future of the 49ers. Like the Bears — if we’re acting under the guise of the deal being multiple first-rounders — the Niners are banking on Wilson producing more —albeit far more expensive — than their two first-rounders in the next two years would.
But you’re paying for that by acquiring Wilson at this contract. You get to skip past the “teach this guy how to play football” phase. There is no learning curve. You’re getting one of the best players at his position with the skill set you’d create in a lab for a Kyle Shanahan offense.
The 49ers have fallen on hard luck before signing Evans. Swinging for the fences on Wilson would help the team wash their hands of the Brandon Aiyuk disaster, provide peace of mind without having to hold their breath in the future to see if Ricky Pearsall stays healthy, and take pressure off De’Zhaun Stribling to replace Evans down the line.”
Cohn: 49ers Trade for DeForest Buckner Looks Even Better After Jeffery Simmons Trade
“And the 49ers still can make another move, one as big as the Simmons trade if they want to, because they still have their first-round picks in 2027 and 2028. The Bears are out of picks, which means they’re out of big moves. This is their team, for better or worse. And it certainly looks imposing on paper….If wide receiver Garrett Wilson becomes available, which is no certainty, the 49ers just might trade their first-rounders in 2027 and 2028 for him. He’s that good.
If the Jets want to hold onto their young franchise wide receiver, they could trade the 49ers Will McDonald IV instead.”
MVP Rankings: Josh Allen, Brock Purdy, Joe Burrow lead the way
“Purdy also leads all quarterbacks in positive EPA rate (56.8%) and ranks fourth in EPA per play (0.28).”
