The Sacramento Bee’s 49er insider Matt Barrows joined Murph and Mac Monday morning to review the 49ers offseason so far under the new regime of John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan.
When asked about whether this new front office duo in San Francisco has already accomplished more in this offseason than Trent Baalke had in all of last offseason, Barrows said “Oh yeah, absolutely true. No doubt, I mean free agency hasn’t even begun, it doesn’t begin until March 9, and they’ve been more active than they were all of last year.”
The 49ers went out and signed wide receiver and local product DeAndre Carter to a 2-year contract. The San Jose native played his college ball at Sacramento State, where he set a single-season school record with 99 receptions and was named an Associated Press FCS First-Team All-American. Carter was last in training camp with the New England Patriots, but was released by the team as a part of final roster cuts.
Earl Mitchell was drafted in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans out of Arizona. The defensive tackle played four years in Houston before signing with the Miami Dolphins in 2014. Mitchell amassed 72 tackles and two sacks in 37 games with the Dolphins. He missed the second half of the 2016 season on injured reserve with a calf injury and was subsequently released by the team on February 17. Mitchell was in a 4-3 defensive scheme with Miami, which is also what new 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh intends to implement.
“Nose tackle should have been something Trent Baalke went after a year ago, because their best player had just had an ACL, Glenn Dorsey,” Barrows said while reviewing the differences between Baalke and Lynch when it comes to addressing positional needs.
“The 49ers have become a Pete Carroll team, whether the 49ers fans know it or like it or not,” Barrows said. “If you go over Pete Carroll’s history all the way back to USC, this is the template that he has set forth for the defensive line. It doesn’t have to be a star player, but a productive player at that nose tackle position. And then you have more marquee players at other spots along that defensive line, and Earl Mitchell strikes all the boxes for what that player is.”
Barrows also discussed the overall theme of what a roster created by John Lynch will most consistently feature. “He has been repetitive in many of the podcasts he has done. That seems to be a theme Lynch hits on quite a bit, is that we want certain character guys on this team. Not saying everybody is going to be squeaky clean that they draft, but I would imagine that the 49ers under Lynch are shall we say more well-behaved than some 49er teams of the past.”
However, Barrows wasn’t all negative when it came to Trent Baalke’s tenure. “Cornerback is a position that he drafted well. And that’s a deep position, so poor K’Waun Williams joins the team, and he’ll have to fight for a roster spot.”
K’Waun Williams was the first signing for the Lynch/Shanahan regime, and he will help to bolster a secondary that was part of the worst scoring defense in the NFL last season.
Check out the full interview below.