Watt to Cardinals ought to hit alarm
Another elite player has joined the NFC West. And, again, the 49ers aren’t the destination.
Three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt announced on Twitter Monday morning that he is going to be an Arizona Cardinal next season. Per ESPN, he signed a two-year, $31 million deal with $23 million in guarantees.
The cap-strapped 49ers weren’t in the running for Watt, but his arrival in the NFC West does have ramifications for the red and gold.
Big ramifications.
Watt might not be the same player that he was early in his Houston Texans tenure, but he’s still one of the better defensive linemen in the league, when healthy. Arizona’s pass rush — graded at 21st in the league last year per Pro Football Focus — is going to improve, possibly significantly.
And while Niners fans are still talking about quarterback possibilities ahead of April’s NFL Draft, that likely improvement to Arizona’s pass rush puts more onus on the 49ers to better protect whoever is under center.
It was already imperative that the 49ers re-sign Trent Williams, but now the veteran left tackle has even more leverage in negotiations with the Niners. The Niners might not have much money to throw around this offseason, but whatever they do have, the vast majority of it needs to go to Williams, who is likely to command a contract in the range of $20 million per season.
So congrats to him.
But re-signing Williams — while necessary — can’t be the full extent of the 49ers’ moves on the offensive line this season.
Again, whether it’s Justin Fields, Jimmy Garoppolo, or Deshaun Watson under center for San Francisco in 2021 (all signs point to it being Garoppolo) the Niners need to improve their pass protection.
We just saw how valuable a strong, cohesive offensive line can be in Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl win. The Buccaneers’ protection of Tom Brady was elite
and that, paired with his excellent decisions and accuracy and a hair-on-fire defense combined to blow out Kansas City in the big game.
The Niners, of course, found a different formula in the fourth quarter of their Super Bowl loss to Kansas City in 2020. And then the team slid a bit more this past season. Per PFF, the Niners were 24th in the NFL in pass protection last year — this, despite the fact that Williams was the highest-graded tackle, overall, in the league last season. Laken Tomlinson, Daniel Brunskill, and Mike McGlinchey allowed 16, 20, and 21 hurries last season, respectively.
Some of that is the quarterback’s fault, no doubt, but no one can allege that those three players had playoff-worthy seasons.
The Niners simply have to be stronger up the middle to compete in their division, much less in the conference or league.
That was, of course, the case when the team only had to worry about Aaron Donald — the NFL’s best defender — in Los Angeles. The addition of Watt to the division and to a team that already has Chandler Jones at defensive end only increases the urgency for San Francisco. Thank goodness Seattle is imploding. It’s San Francisco’s only good news this offseason.
Given the Niners’ financial constraints, there are only two ways to significantly improve the team’s interior offensive line: the draft — specifically pick No. 12 — and bargain-bin free agency.
Former Cal Bear Alex Mack was once arguably the best center in the NFL under Shanahan, having played with him with the Browns and the Falcons.
At age 35, his game has slipped, but there were moments last season where he looked like his old self. Could he unite with Shanahan for a third time this offseason? The price would have to be right for San Francisco, but the need is certainly there.