March 5, 2025 • 10 mins
Sharing highlights from the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, previewing the 49ers free agency signing period, examining the team's potential draft prospects and offseason strategy.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the forty nine Ers First and ten Podcast
presented by Cisco. I'm your host Brian McDonald, joined by
forty nine Ers team reporter Lindsay Polares. Today we're diving
deeper into some NFL off season news. We're going to
be recapping the NFL Scott Combine, taking a look at
the free agency period that's coming up real soon, and
taking a preview look into the twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Five NFL Draft.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
But to start, let's recap the scouting combine that just
wrapped up earlier this last week. And what's going to
be really interesting about this combine is that we're going
to be looking at a lot of speed in these
upcoming prospects and upcoming NFL Draft picks. The twenty twenty
five combine participants recorded, on average, the fastest forty yard
(00:45):
dashes at a single combine since two thousand and three,
an average of four point six seconds in the forty
yard dash, and the fastest was a defensive back out
of Kentucky, Maxwell Harriston. He ran a four point two
eight forty yard dash. And another really interesting prospect that
I want to cover with you, Lindsay, was a defensive
back out of South Carolina, Nick and Menworri, What do.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
You know about him? What makes him really interesting to
the Niners?
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Yeah, so his measurables pretty crazy. So eleven feet six
inches on the broad jump, a four to three eight
forty yard dash, and also the highest vertical of any
of the prospects coming through the combine forty three inches.
And then also I wanted to call attention to his
perfect ten relative athletic score that.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Is pretty historic.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
He is rated first among over one thousand strong safeties
that have come through the combine from nineteen eighty seven
to twenty twenty five. And he's a particular interest to
this podcast because he has been slated as a mock
draft prospect to the Niners, who are picking number eleven overall. Obviously,
(01:50):
these mock drafts are all speculation. I think that's kind
of the bulk of the media coverage.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
That we're in fun that you could play with.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
This is the fun part, right, So this is a
name we've seen in several mock drafts. I think just
really cool to see the measurables that he was able
to put up at the NFL scouting Combine, certainly very
impressive to a lot of teams that I do think
this is someone that saw their draft stock rise over
the four day events.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Yeah, hit the highest vertical at forty three inches, which
is a standout to the group who the second highest
is only at forty one point five inches, only at
also pretty impressive. He also had the furthest broad jump
like you mentioned, at eleven feet and six inches. And yes,
he's been mock draft of the forty nine ers as
a first round pick by CBS Sports Ryan Wilson. So
a prospect to keep your eyes on as we head
(02:36):
into the draft. But now that the combine is over
all eyes are shifting over to the next date in
the NFL offseason calendar, which is the free agency signing period.
The twenty twenty five new League gear and free agency
signing period begins at one pm Pacific time our time,
four pm New York time on March twelfth.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
So what's that to look there for?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Well, before we get to that, right now, we are
literally add another deadline, which really doesn't affect the Niners.
They opted to not use the franchise tag, but that
franchise tag period was from February eighteenth to March fourth,
which is today as we are recording this podcast, so
a non issue for the Niners. But yes, like you mentioned,
the new league year is right around the corner, and
(03:18):
certainly there are several players on the forty nine ers
roster that are set to become free agents, some that
have already been taken care of. I did publish an
article much earlier in the offseason talking about the full
gamut of players set to become free agents. The forty
nine Ers have taken care of some of those names,
and I'll read them off to you. There was a
(03:39):
pretty sizable group of exclusive rights free agents, and all
of those guys on that list have been taken care of.
They are on one year of deals. That includes defensive
lineman Evan Anderson, defensive lineman Alex Barrett, linebacker Jalen Graham,
defensive lineman Sam o'kuano, offensive lineman Austin Pleasance, tight end
Jake Tongjis, and tight end Brandon Willis. We also saw
(04:01):
that offensive lineman Ben BArch who came to the forty
nine ers last offseason as a free agent after spending
his first four seasons in the league with the Jaguars.
He has also been re signed so that's all the
business that's happened up to this point. We also saw
linebacker Demetrius Flanagan Fowls was released earlier in the offseason.
(04:22):
Still a lot of other names that are on this list,
so we can go through them. We have restricted rights
free agents. This is similar to what we saw with
wide receiver Juwan Jennings. Only two names on that list.
It's linebacker Curtis Robinson and then also running back Jordan Mason.
So the forty nine ers have to decide what type
of tender they would like to take with those guys.
(04:43):
It's a little bit different than just unrestricted free agents.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
That list very very long, so I'll read through those names.
Agains a lot of names.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Brandon Allen, Aaron Banks, Chris Conley, Josh Dobbs, Khalil Davis,
Toshan Gibson, Senior, Kevin Gibbons, Dray green Law, Javon Hargray,
Charlie Heck, Talano, Hufanga, Nick McLeod, Elijah Mitchell, Jalen Moore,
Pat o'donald, Eric Staubert, Patrick Taylor Junior, Tarvarius Mooney, Ward,
rock Ya Scene and Isaac Yadham. So as we're taking
(05:13):
a look at this long list, Breed, where do you
see the biggest needs for the forty nine ers in
free agency and also the draft, which is right.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Around the corner.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Yeah, well, it's always hard at this point, Like you're saying,
with mock drafts happening, there's also a lot of mock
ideas in free agency. We don't know exactly which moves
the Niners are going to take during the free agency
period versus during the draft. So I do know that
John Lynch very highly interested in creating a younger roster,
so we're definitely going to look at some needs in
the draft, But with free agency coming up, it's pretty
(05:43):
much all positions down the roster. The twenty twenty four
roster is going to be looking much more different from
the twenty twenty five roster. But as we look at
the mock drafts, in what's slated in the draft, we've
got defensive tackle, offensive lineman, cornerback, linebacker.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
In safety.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
So I think maybe that's where the Niners are going
to target some of the younger talent. But when you're
looking at free agency and picking up some of those
veteran players, you never know where it's going to be
from defense to offensive side and thinking a lot of
the linebackers are going to be taking a harsh look
at them somewhere defensively in the backfield. You never know
how Robert sla is going to influence this free agency period.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
So it's kind of all over the board.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
But what's really interesting I think with the mock drafts
and draft season coming up, is that our football ops
are going to be balancing, Okay, who have we picked
up in free agency since that will be done and
over with, and then who are the best players available
now that we're picking right outside of the top ten,
so there's going to be a lot of elite talent there,
and then what are the targeted positions of need.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
As we enter the new year.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
So there's a lot to juggle with as we stand
right here in this state without knowing any free agency
moves and without knowing what the draft is going to
look like.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
So it's kind of all over the board.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Lindsay, but what do you think are going to be
some of the free agency covers versus mock draft covers
and what positions do you think we're going to go
in starting sooner?
Speaker 3 (07:00):
You know, I think especially with Robert Sala coming in
as the kind of i say, new defensive coordinator. He's
obviously been here before. I do think he is going
to have a heavy hand in both free agency and
the draft. And it did want to reiterate the point
that you made earlier, John Lynch and company. Really the
front office staff is really examining this roster, and it
(07:21):
really is about sustainability. As everyone knows, this forty nine
Ers team star studded, which usually means that the salaries
also follow that, and also a lot of veteran players.
So yes, I think that is really one of the
big concerns, creating some financial flexibility and then also bringing
on some youth to this roster. I was reading a
(07:42):
report by ESPN's Nick Wagner. This roster at the start
of the twenty twenty four season average age of a
player just under twenty seven years old, which is fairly
veteran for this league because your time goes very very
quickly in the NFL. So again, looking really to the draft,
I think to reload this forty nine Ers roster not
(08:03):
just for you know, the immediate future, but the future
to come. Like looking down farther farther down, the line
how you've seen guys drafted and developed like a George Kittle,
a Fred Warner. You know, a Ronaldo Green is like
a very good recent example of someone who turned out
to be a really, really good rookie and you just
expect to see him blossom later on in the years.
Same thing with safety Malec Mustafa. So you want to
(08:25):
create that pipeline of talent that you grow and develop
in house and they become your future superstars. And I
do think we're going to see a little bit more
of an emphasis on that this offseason.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Yeah, and the forty nine ers will have ten picks
to work with in this year's draft, so a perfect
opportunity to start bringing in a new lifeline of players.
And so far, looking at these mock drafts a lot
on the defensive side of the ball, I think analysts
are really curious to see how Robert Sala is going
to influence this year's first round pick. Yes, ten picks
(08:56):
overall to start, and the latest projections player we mentioned earlier,
nick Eman war from South Carolina, a safety. There also
defensive tackle Mason Graham out of Michigan is a really
interesting player to look at when you're starting to create
your mock drafts. Daniel Jeremiah called him a dream scenario
pick for the Niners. He's ranked fourth overall on Daniel
Jeremiah's draft board, and he called it a home run
(09:18):
pick for the Niners because he has amazing tape, but
his measurables in the combine didn't quite match up to
what a lot of NFL prospects were thinking. So he
could be a perfect pick for the Niners right outside
of that top ten. But on the offensive side of
the ball, you could also take a look at Amon Membo,
he's an offensive lineman out of Missouri, or Josh Simmons,
an offensive tackle out of Ohio State. Also Kelvin Bakes Junior,
(09:41):
a tackle out of Texas. So some names floating around
and that are matching up on multiple mock drafts across
the internet. But it's a lot of fun just to
keep tabs on players see where they rise and fall
as we go from the combine to free agency leading
into the draft. But a lot of fun stuff to
cover it. Do you have any eyes peeled on any
Pacific players? You know?
Speaker 3 (10:00):
I think really my attention is on the defensive side
of the ball and just the needs there. I do
think there is an interested deed both at safety potentially
at cornerback. Again, a lot of this depends on who
stays and goes in free agency, and I think a
lot of that is going to be revealed quite literally
in the coming weeks as players start finding new destinations
(10:20):
or new deals are made right here in house.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Yeah, so faithful, stay tuned.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
We'll have any breaking news Move the Chains episode, So
turn on your post notifications on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and
YouTube and we'll see you real soon.
Welcome to the forty nine Ers First and ten Podcast
presented by Cisco. I'm your host Brian McDonald, joined by
forty nine Ers team reporter Lindsay Polares. Today we're diving
deeper into some NFL off season news. We're going to
be recapping the NFL Scott Combine, taking a look at
the free agency period that's coming up real soon, and
taking a preview look into the twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Five NFL Draft.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
But to start, let's recap the scouting combine that just
wrapped up earlier this last week. And what's going to
be really interesting about this combine is that we're going
to be looking at a lot of speed in these
upcoming prospects and upcoming NFL Draft picks. The twenty twenty
five combine participants recorded, on average, the fastest forty yard
(00:45):
dashes at a single combine since two thousand and three,
an average of four point six seconds in the forty
yard dash, and the fastest was a defensive back out
of Kentucky, Maxwell Harriston. He ran a four point two
eight forty yard dash. And another really interesting prospect that
I want to cover with you, Lindsay, was a defensive
back out of South Carolina, Nick and Menworri, What do.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
You know about him? What makes him really interesting to
the Niners?
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Yeah, so his measurables pretty crazy. So eleven feet six
inches on the broad jump, a four to three eight
forty yard dash, and also the highest vertical of any
of the prospects coming through the combine forty three inches.
And then also I wanted to call attention to his
perfect ten relative athletic score that.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Is pretty historic.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
He is rated first among over one thousand strong safeties
that have come through the combine from nineteen eighty seven
to twenty twenty five. And he's a particular interest to
this podcast because he has been slated as a mock
draft prospect to the Niners, who are picking number eleven overall. Obviously,
(01:50):
these mock drafts are all speculation. I think that's kind
of the bulk of the media coverage.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
That we're in fun that you could play with.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
This is the fun part, right, So this is a
name we've seen in several mock drafts. I think just
really cool to see the measurables that he was able
to put up at the NFL scouting Combine, certainly very
impressive to a lot of teams that I do think
this is someone that saw their draft stock rise over
the four day events.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Yeah, hit the highest vertical at forty three inches, which
is a standout to the group who the second highest
is only at forty one point five inches, only at
also pretty impressive. He also had the furthest broad jump
like you mentioned, at eleven feet and six inches. And yes,
he's been mock draft of the forty nine ers as
a first round pick by CBS Sports Ryan Wilson. So
a prospect to keep your eyes on as we head
(02:36):
into the draft. But now that the combine is over
all eyes are shifting over to the next date in
the NFL offseason calendar, which is the free agency signing period.
The twenty twenty five new League gear and free agency
signing period begins at one pm Pacific time our time,
four pm New York time on March twelfth.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
So what's that to look there for?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Well, before we get to that, right now, we are
literally add another deadline, which really doesn't affect the Niners.
They opted to not use the franchise tag, but that
franchise tag period was from February eighteenth to March fourth,
which is today as we are recording this podcast, so
a non issue for the Niners. But yes, like you mentioned,
the new league year is right around the corner, and
(03:18):
certainly there are several players on the forty nine ers
roster that are set to become free agents, some that
have already been taken care of. I did publish an
article much earlier in the offseason talking about the full
gamut of players set to become free agents. The forty
nine Ers have taken care of some of those names,
and I'll read them off to you. There was a
(03:39):
pretty sizable group of exclusive rights free agents, and all
of those guys on that list have been taken care of.
They are on one year of deals. That includes defensive
lineman Evan Anderson, defensive lineman Alex Barrett, linebacker Jalen Graham,
defensive lineman Sam o'kuano, offensive lineman Austin Pleasance, tight end
Jake Tongjis, and tight end Brandon Willis. We also saw
(04:01):
that offensive lineman Ben BArch who came to the forty
nine ers last offseason as a free agent after spending
his first four seasons in the league with the Jaguars.
He has also been re signed so that's all the
business that's happened up to this point. We also saw
linebacker Demetrius Flanagan Fowls was released earlier in the offseason.
(04:22):
Still a lot of other names that are on this list,
so we can go through them. We have restricted rights
free agents. This is similar to what we saw with
wide receiver Juwan Jennings. Only two names on that list.
It's linebacker Curtis Robinson and then also running back Jordan Mason.
So the forty nine ers have to decide what type
of tender they would like to take with those guys.
(04:43):
It's a little bit different than just unrestricted free agents.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
That list very very long, so I'll read through those names.
Agains a lot of names.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Brandon Allen, Aaron Banks, Chris Conley, Josh Dobbs, Khalil Davis,
Toshan Gibson, Senior, Kevin Gibbons, Dray green Law, Javon Hargray,
Charlie Heck, Talano, Hufanga, Nick McLeod, Elijah Mitchell, Jalen Moore,
Pat o'donald, Eric Staubert, Patrick Taylor Junior, Tarvarius Mooney, Ward,
rock Ya Scene and Isaac Yadham. So as we're taking
(05:13):
a look at this long list, Breed, where do you
see the biggest needs for the forty nine ers in
free agency and also the draft, which is right.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Around the corner.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Yeah, well, it's always hard at this point, Like you're saying,
with mock drafts happening, there's also a lot of mock
ideas in free agency. We don't know exactly which moves
the Niners are going to take during the free agency
period versus during the draft. So I do know that
John Lynch very highly interested in creating a younger roster,
so we're definitely going to look at some needs in
the draft, But with free agency coming up, it's pretty
(05:43):
much all positions down the roster. The twenty twenty four
roster is going to be looking much more different from
the twenty twenty five roster. But as we look at
the mock drafts, in what's slated in the draft, we've
got defensive tackle, offensive lineman, cornerback, linebacker.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
In safety.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
So I think maybe that's where the Niners are going
to target some of the younger talent. But when you're
looking at free agency and picking up some of those
veteran players, you never know where it's going to be
from defense to offensive side and thinking a lot of
the linebackers are going to be taking a harsh look
at them somewhere defensively in the backfield. You never know
how Robert sla is going to influence this free agency period.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
So it's kind of all over the board.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
But what's really interesting I think with the mock drafts
and draft season coming up, is that our football ops
are going to be balancing, Okay, who have we picked
up in free agency since that will be done and
over with, and then who are the best players available
now that we're picking right outside of the top ten,
so there's going to be a lot of elite talent there,
and then what are the targeted positions of need.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
As we enter the new year.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
So there's a lot to juggle with as we stand
right here in this state without knowing any free agency
moves and without knowing what the draft is going to
look like.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
So it's kind of all over the board.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Lindsay, but what do you think are going to be
some of the free agency covers versus mock draft covers
and what positions do you think we're going to go
in starting sooner?
Speaker 3 (07:00):
You know, I think especially with Robert Sala coming in
as the kind of i say, new defensive coordinator. He's
obviously been here before. I do think he is going
to have a heavy hand in both free agency and
the draft. And it did want to reiterate the point
that you made earlier, John Lynch and company. Really the
front office staff is really examining this roster, and it
(07:21):
really is about sustainability. As everyone knows, this forty nine
Ers team star studded, which usually means that the salaries
also follow that, and also a lot of veteran players.
So yes, I think that is really one of the
big concerns, creating some financial flexibility and then also bringing
on some youth to this roster. I was reading a
(07:42):
report by ESPN's Nick Wagner. This roster at the start
of the twenty twenty four season average age of a
player just under twenty seven years old, which is fairly
veteran for this league because your time goes very very
quickly in the NFL. So again, looking really to the draft,
I think to reload this forty nine Ers roster not
(08:03):
just for you know, the immediate future, but the future
to come. Like looking down farther farther down, the line
how you've seen guys drafted and developed like a George Kittle,
a Fred Warner. You know, a Ronaldo Green is like
a very good recent example of someone who turned out
to be a really, really good rookie and you just
expect to see him blossom later on in the years.
Same thing with safety Malec Mustafa. So you want to
(08:25):
create that pipeline of talent that you grow and develop
in house and they become your future superstars. And I
do think we're going to see a little bit more
of an emphasis on that this offseason.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Yeah, and the forty nine ers will have ten picks
to work with in this year's draft, so a perfect
opportunity to start bringing in a new lifeline of players.
And so far, looking at these mock drafts a lot
on the defensive side of the ball, I think analysts
are really curious to see how Robert Sala is going
to influence this year's first round pick. Yes, ten picks
(08:56):
overall to start, and the latest projections player we mentioned earlier,
nick Eman war from South Carolina, a safety. There also
defensive tackle Mason Graham out of Michigan is a really
interesting player to look at when you're starting to create
your mock drafts. Daniel Jeremiah called him a dream scenario
pick for the Niners. He's ranked fourth overall on Daniel
Jeremiah's draft board, and he called it a home run
(09:18):
pick for the Niners because he has amazing tape, but
his measurables in the combine didn't quite match up to
what a lot of NFL prospects were thinking. So he
could be a perfect pick for the Niners right outside
of that top ten. But on the offensive side of
the ball, you could also take a look at Amon Membo,
he's an offensive lineman out of Missouri, or Josh Simmons,
an offensive tackle out of Ohio State. Also Kelvin Bakes Junior,
(09:41):
a tackle out of Texas. So some names floating around
and that are matching up on multiple mock drafts across
the internet. But it's a lot of fun just to
keep tabs on players see where they rise and fall
as we go from the combine to free agency leading
into the draft. But a lot of fun stuff to
cover it. Do you have any eyes peeled on any
Pacific players? You know?
Speaker 3 (10:00):
I think really my attention is on the defensive side
of the ball and just the needs there. I do
think there is an interested deed both at safety potentially
at cornerback. Again, a lot of this depends on who
stays and goes in free agency, and I think a
lot of that is going to be revealed quite literally
in the coming weeks as players start finding new destinations
(10:20):
or new deals are made right here in house.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Yeah, so faithful, stay tuned.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
We'll have any breaking news Move the Chains episode, So
turn on your post notifications on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and
YouTube and we'll see you real soon.
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