Seven 49ers Land on PFF’s ‘Top 200 Players Set to Enter Free Agency’ List
The San Francisco 49ers are gearing up for several important offseason dates and events that will ultimately shape the team’s roster headed into the 2024 season.
The 49ers utilize the NFL Scouting Combine and the NFL Draft to identify and select elite college players to bring to The Bay while the league’s free agency period, beginning in mid-March, is all about finding the best current players available to fortify San Francisco’s roster.
Year-over-year there is only one thing that holds true about every team’s roster – they never stay the same. The 49ers have already begun making roster moves with the signing of 13 free agents since the end of the 2023 season and the release of cornerback Isaiah Oliver shortly after.
More difficult and strategic decisions lie ahead as the offseason continues, and several of those will involve more players from the past season set to enter free agency.
Pro Football Focus has compiled a list of the “Top 200 Players Set to Enter Free Agency,” and seven members of the 49ers Super Bowl LVIII team made the list. Here is the breakdown on those seven players and their free agent comparisons from recent history, per the PFF writer Brad Spielberger.
No. 29 – Defensive lineman Chase Young
Young was a mid-season addition via a trade at the deadline with the Washington Commanders. He made his 49ers debut in Week 10 versus the Jacksonville Jaguars and appeared in 12 contests including the postseason. Young made a big splash in Super Bowl LVIII amassing 1.0 sack and eight total tackles (two tackles for loss).
“Finally healthy in 2023 after spending the better part of two seasons recovering from a torn ACL, Young exploded early in the year and finished among the top edge defenders in pass-rush win rate on the season.
A strong run defender as a rookie, Young does lose contain at times and occasionally gets guided upfield beyond the play, but a half-season of working with defensive line coach Kris Kocurek in San Francisco is the best free agency preparation around.”
