Have 49ers begun talks with Brock Purdy? Ten questions ahead of NFL combine
The 49ers head to Indianapolis this week with a lot of draft picks — 10 total — and with plenty of intrigue about their roster.
Here are the biggest questions they'll be asking themselves — and we'll be asking them — at this year's NFL Scouting Combine.
While the combine is ostensibly where teams learn about draft prospects, it's really the spot where business deals get done. Or at least get started. During the 2014 combine, for instance, the 49ers' brass prominently sat down at Shula's Steak House with Colin Kaepernick's agents. The dinner meeting was the first step toward a six-year extension that was ratified two and half months later. Will Lynch and chief negotiator Paraag Marathe have a similar sitdown with Kyle Strongin, who represents Brock Purdy? What about Jack Bechta, George Kittle's agent? Perhaps the biggest question in Indianapolis is whether the 49ers' offseason business — a major distraction for the franchise in 2024 — has gotten underway.
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The NFL informed teams last week that the 2025 salary cap will fall between $277.5 million and $281.5 million, which will be at least $22.1 million more than last year's cap and a bigger jump than teams were anticipating. Does that increase the chances the 49ers can sign some of their own free agents, in particular linebacker Dre Greenlaw? The 49ers still have two and a half weeks to negotiate exclusively with Greenlaw. As it stands now, they have plenty of cap space — more than $45 million — although several defense-needy teams who might have interest in Greenlaw have more, including the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders.
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Mason will be one of the most interesting restricted free agents on the market. He showed last season he can be a starting tailback — he averaged 5.2 yards a carry — and he's only 25 without much wear and tear. On the other hand, this is expected to be an uncommonly deep draft at running back and teams looking for tailbacks may be eyeing a rookie. What approach will San Francisco take with Mason? The one-year tender amounts are expected to be around $7.5 million (first-round compensation), $5.4 million (second round) and $3.3 million (right of first refusal). Or the 49ers can decline to tender him and allow him to become an unrestricted free agent.
The 49ers always are looking for speedy running backs and this year's deep class has several candidates. Keep an eye on the 40-yard dash times for Tennessee's Dylan Sampson, Virginia Tech's Bhayshul Tuten, Texas' Jaydon Blue and Syracuse's LeQuint Allen. If any of them post times similar to what fourth-round pick Isaac Guerendo ran a year ago, it will immediately catch the 49ers' attention.
The last time Kyle Shanahan spoke about Moody, back on Dec. 26, he made it sound as if the kicker were set to return. 'I think he's made of the right stuff just from a mental standpoint and everything,' Shanahan said. 'And I think he has all the tools to be a great kicker in this league.' If those words were meant to give the struggling Moody an end-of-season confidence boost, it didn't work. He missed three of his last four field goal attempts, one extra point and had an ugly onside kick in the final two weeks. His 70.6 field goal mark in 2024, one of the worst in the NFL, begs the question of whether Shanahan and incoming special teams coordinator Brant Boyer will continue on with the former third-round pick.
Membou, a tackle out of Missouri, is a person of interest for the 49ers when it comes to their first-round pick. He's strong, agile, has faced top competition and plays a position San Francisco hasn't drafted in the first round since 2018. But how long are his arms? There were conflicting numbers coming out of last month's Senior Bowl, where Membou was a scratch due to an illness. The combine measurement is what all teams use anyway, and the 49ers will be eager to see if Membou's levers meet the 34-inch mark they prefer for tackles. The draft appears to be full of tackle-guard tweeners, and the measurements for players such as LSU's Will Campbell and Texas' Kelvin Banks Jr. also will be noteworthy.
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49ers mock draft reaction: Will tackle Armand Membou measure up to team's standard?
Another tackle with question marks is Ohio State's Josh Simmons, who suffered a patellar tendon injury in October and missed the rest of the season. He has the smooth footwork the 49ers like in their tackles and had been playing like the top tackle in the class before getting hurt. That injury, however, is significant. The timeline for Simmons returning to top form will determine when he gets drafted.
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Speaking of patellar injuries, that's the issue that kept former second-round pick Jackson off the field for the 2024 season. The draft will have good edge rushers. The 49ers might want to land one or two, especially if Jackson is iffy.
A dream scenario for the 49ers: If Michigan's Graham, who is widely considered the top defensive tackle in the draft, falls out of the top 10 and is available to San Francisco at pick No. 11. While his tape is top notch — including against the run — he might not be the type who excels at the so-called Underwear Olympics. Graham has a stubby build and some prospects are more athletic. If his numbers are merely ho-hum, will that be a turn-off for teams picking in the top 10? The 49ers are crossing their fingers that happens.
The 49ers have yet to announce their revamped coaching staff, so Bradley's role and title are unknown. With Brandon Staley being hired as the New Orleans Saints' new defensive coordinator, the 49ers' assistant head coach title that Staley had in 2024 is expected to go to Bradley. But what does that mean in practical terms? At his end-of-season news conference, Shanahan said he wanted the defense to be able to pivot should it run into injuries like it did in 2024. Perhaps that will be what Bradley and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh concentrate on this offseason — figuring out blitz packages that mesh with their defensive system.
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Denver Broncos' Vance Joseph raising bar for top-ranked defense: ‘Let's start over again'
When the dust settled on Vance Joseph's second season as the defensive coordinator in Denver, the Broncos had set a record with 63 sacks. They finished first in defensive efficiency, according to TruMedia's expected points added metric. They boasted the NFL's defensive player of the year in cornerback Pat Surtain II and two other All-Pro selections in outside linebacker Nik Bonitto and defensive end Zach Allen. Advertisement However, the victory lap for Joseph and the Broncos' braintrust was brief — if it existed at all. A 31-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the playoffs shoved the Broncos back to the drawing board. 'We watched every clip from last year, and once you watch it all, you get a clear idea of how teams attacked you,' Joseph said Wednesday during his lone meeting with the media before training camp. 'It was obvious. I won't share that, but it was obvious how teams attacked us. You have to go to work to try to prevent some of that stuff. That's what you do in the offseason, and that's every year. You have to change and adjust.' Another day of minicamp in the 📚 — Denver Broncos (@Broncos) June 11, 2025 What followed was an offseason of major additions for an already talented defense. The Broncos signed a pair of former San Francisco 49ers standouts in safety Talanoa Hufanga and inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw. They then used their first-round pick on versatile defensive back Jahdae Barron, who was coached by Joseph's cousin, Terry Joseph, for three seasons at Texas. The additions provided a window into how the Broncos viewed their shortcomings last season defensively. Despite Surtain's lockdown brilliance, the Broncos had too many breakdowns in the secondary, particularly during late-season losses to the Los Angeles Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals. They struggled at times to cover running backs. Denver opponents produced a 122.1 passer rating when targeting the position last season. Only the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans yielded a higher opponent rating. Hufanga and Greenlaw — physical, experienced players brought in to fortify the spine of the defense — are expected to help with those issues. But the addition of those players goes beyond the schematic adjustments the Broncos are trying to make. Joseph noted that Denver still has a relatively young defense. The playoff game in Buffalo was the first taste of the postseason for the bulk of Denver's defensive starters, and it showed. Hufanga and Greenlaw, meanwhile, have played in 17 combined playoff games. Greenlaw has played in two Super Bowls. Advertisement 'Both guys bring experience of being in big games and being on dominant defenses,' Joseph said. 'That's an attitude in practice and in meetings every day. You see it with those guys. Those guys love football. To add them to our mix has been tremendous. We're looking forward to the fall.' Greenlaw has not participated in the on-field portion of Denver's offseason program, which concludes Thursday with the final practice of mandatory minicamp. He suffered a quad injury while training on his own before the NFL Draft and is expected to be cleared for team activity by the time training camp begins. In the meantime, Greenlaw has been a constant presence on the sidelines at practices and in meetings. Hufanga, who intercepted Broncos quarterback Bo Nix at the end of last week's OTA practice attended by the media, has been part of a new soundtrack for Denver's defense. He has provided a vocal presence in the back end of the defense that has already been apparent. 'You are going to see how special they are,' said nose tackle D.J. Jones, who played with both players in San Francisco before signing with the Broncos in 2022. 'You're going to see why they brought them here.' 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Even when, obviously, he left the Saints, he still had a big stamp on that organization, so we continued to do a lot of the same things that he did when he was there. Just familiar with the coach, familiar with the person. We always got along great off the field as well, so for me it was an easy choice.' Rizzi has already had a noticeable imprint on the Broncos. Denver signed two potential special teams stalwarts during free agency in wide receiver Trent Sherfield Jr. and safety Sam Franklin. The Broncos used their fourth-round pick on Que Robinson, an outside linebacker who was a prolific special teams player at Alabama. They were also the only team to draft a punter, using their sixth-round selection on Florida's Jeremy Crawshaw, who has already made a strong impression on his new coach. 'Here's a guy that came from Australia, went to an SEC school, a top-level college program, had a ton of success,' Rizzi said. 'His maturity level, he's kind of beyond his years. 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