The new league year started at 4 PM EST for the NFL, so contracts and trades are official. There is plenty of talent still available, with new names being added when teams are forced to make tough decisions concerning their roster. The 49ers added future Hall of Famer Mike Evans and retained Jake Tonges with two offensive line additions to bolster depth. The Rams were very aggressive in remaking their secondary with the acquisitions of Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. Special teams and secondary were the Rams’
biggest issues in 2025.
Seattle has seen some valuable players walk in free agency. Boye Mafe, Riq Woolen, and others moved on to other teams, but the Seahawks’ plan to field a speedy secondary is still in place with the NFL Draft next month. Bottom line, the Rams and Seahawks will field formidable secondaries, and the 49ers need to keep adding receivers to tip the scales back.
Evans is a good start and will slide into Jauan Jennings’ role. If the 49ers want to reclaim the NFC West, they desperately need to add speed to their receiver room. More importantly, separators at the position. Even if the 49ers’ two division rivals weren’t adding to their secondary, the receiver room needs a little juice. Brandon Aiyuk is still on the roster, for now.
The Rams understand how to fix their issues and are always aggressive. The 49ers need to show some urgency with the receiver room in free agency and the draft. This is an arms race, and as long as Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay are in Los Angeles, the Rams are contenders. Seattle isn’t going anywhere, and even with the loss of Woolen, the defense is still at the top of the NFL.
Keeping up with the Joneses isn’t usually the way to go, but when it comes to this arms race, the 49ers need to be as aggressive as possible to keep the gap between them and the two division rivals as close as possible.
