LA Rams peek behind enemy lines at rival San Francisco 49ers

The LA Rams face NFC West teams twice in 2020. So let’s get a peek at what their 49ers rival off-season looks like

The LA Rams played in Super Bowl 53. Their rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, played in Super Bowl 54. Now the 49ers are in the limbo of “close wasn’t good enough” which faced the Rams a season ago.  With that loss, the 49ers are now officially looking to next year.  So why not join them in peeking behind the enemy lines and examining what’s in store for the rival 49ers this year?

The Kansas City Chiefs exposed the 49ers defense in the same way they had exposed defenses all season.  They threw deep routes when they needed to. They ran the ball when they were not expected to. And their quarterback was mobile enough to run for a touchdown.

On the flip side, the Chiefs defense kept their team on par in turnovers, picking off 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo twice, the same number as the 49ers defense had intercepted Patrick Mahomes passes.  The game was entertaining. The lessons it revealed about the rival 49ers was priceless.

No doubt LA Rams honchos Les Snead and Sean McVay have used that game to strategize for this year. What can we  learn about the 49ers heading into 2020?

Salary cap and Free Agency

Well, let’s start at some basics. The San Francisco 49ers enter the 2020 NFL Free Agency with a purse lighter than that of the LA Rams.  Per OverTheCap.com, the 49ers have just $13,858,285 to spend on both 2020 free agents and their selections from the 2020 NFL Draft.

That must pay for up to 15 unrestricted free agents scheduled to test the free agency market.  Factoring in restricted free agents and exclusive restricted free agents, the 49ers are on track to part ways with 23 players in 2020 from their Super Bowl Roster.

Much like the Rams, the 49ers risk losing some very productive players as cap casualties.  Defensive end Arik Armstead was a huge force on their defensive line, recording 54 tackles and 10 sacks in 2019.

WR Emmanuel Sanders is an equally important contributor on the offense, his 36 catches for 502 yards and three touchdowns were good enough for third best on the team, despite just 10 games. Safety Jimmy Ward, reserve DT Sheldon Day, reserve DE Ronald Blair, and even RB Matt Breida are all about to enter the free agent market.

NFL Draft and UDFAs

For the NFL Draft, the 49ers own one first round, two fifth round, one sixth round, and two seventh round picks. That’s a rather modest handful of picks to restock the roster after so many losses to free agency.  And there are no projected compensatory picks for the 49ers this year.

Per Tankathon.com, the 49ers are scheduled to pick at  31, 139, 159, 191, 195, and 223.  These picks of course may change as compensatory picks are inserted into the third – seventh rounds.  But that is not a very strong set of picks to reinforce an NFL roster.

The 49ers signed only 10 undrafted free agents in 2019.  Of that group, none made it to the 53-man roster.  The 49ers did sign tight end Daniel Helm, an undrafted free agent signing from the Los Angeles Chargers.

The 49ers shopping list is huge this off-season, and includes: interior offensive linemen, defensive backs, wide receiver, linebackers, defensive line, offensive tackle, running back, and tight end.

Offense and defense highlights

That is not to say that this 49ers team does not have a solid foundation. They do. While the team must restock the roster, the team has anchored an incredibly robust and talented group of young players.  The 49ers offense takes a balanced approach, able to move the ball as successfully through the air as the ground.  In 2019, the bias was almost non-existent.  The offense passed 478 times, and ran 498 times.

The 49ers are getting dramatic results with their offensive formations which include a fullback. While Kyle Juszczyk didn’t put up much rushing yardage, he was instrumental in the success of the 49ers ability to run for tough yardage. And he was the fifth most productive receiver on the team.

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The 49ers passing game is the one area of the team in need of more attention. Tight end George Kittle, a talented player, led the team in receiving yards. But the team will likely need to add multiple wide receivers to add competition and more production in the passing game.

49ers 2020 road back

The San Francisco 49ers came from a 4-12 season, followed by a 13-3 season.  Now the team must face the top ranked 2019 opponents in 2020. That’s a difficult path to walk.  Wile the 49ers schedule will also face both the NFC East and AFC East opponents, the 49ers will face the Green Bay Packers at home, and travel to face the New Orleans Saints in The Big Easy.

The 49ers have not lost any coaches to other teams, which is very surprising considering how successful the team was, virtually overnight.

The difference between the LA Rams and the San Francisco 49ers is not as great as some may believe it to be. Now the 49ers must learn the hard lesson of how to improve a very good team. The sting of taking a ten point lead into the late minutes of the game will continue to be the focus of a team which stood just 15 minutes from winning it all.

All of this creates a vulnerable 49ers team heading into the 2020 season. They have as many if not more roster needs than the LA Rams, with less money, and with day three draft picks. That could make an interesting off-season for them, and a golden opportunity for the LA Rams.