49ers' best available free-agent fits: From Danielle Hunter to Kwon Alexander (2024)

Will the San Francisco 49ers be ants or grasshoppers when free agency officially gets underway Monday?

On one hand, they already have a roster full of expensive pieces and they must gird themselves for another colossal contract in 2025 when quarterback Brock Purdy’s deal can be extended.

Then again, they are still very much in win-now mode and haven’t been able to resist signing at least one high-end free agent in recent years. They have the ability to do that again this year as this roster-building exercise shows.

If they open their wallet one more time in pursuit of a Super Bowl, a few positions jump out. Here are 20 free agents who seem like particularly good fits. They are arranged from priciest to cheapest:

DE Danielle Hunter

Hunter became the top edge player on the market after Josh Allen and Brian Burns got locked up with franchise tags this week. He’s older than those two — he’ll turn 30 during the upcoming season — and doesn’t have their upside. Still, Hunter has been consistent and largely healthy throughout his career, playing a full season in six of his eight years in the league. Last season, he finished with 16 1/2 sacks and 23 tackles for loss and had a particularly strong game — one sack, four quarterback hurries — in the Minnesota Vikings’ Week 7 win over the 49ers. Hunter might command a contract worth around $20 million a year.

DE Jonathan Greenard

A similarly priced alternative is Greenard, who had 12 1/2 sacks last season for the Houston Texans and who is 26 years old. Like Allen, Greenard has the size, strength and pass-rush skills to be a bookend for Nick Bosa, and his learning curve would be minimal after playing in a similar system last season. As strong as he was in 2023, however, Greenard still finished with just 53 total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. Bosa, by contrast, had 122.

OL Robert Hunt

If the 49ers decide that the right side of their offensive line needs some big-money investment, Hunt might be the man for the job. He started his NFL career at tackle but has played right guard over the past three seasons. That was the weak point of the 49ers’ offensive line in 2023, but they could also use some versatility up front. The best part of this potential fit is that Hunt meshed well with coach Mike McDaniel’s scheme in Miami. The 49ers can be confident that he’d also deliver in the run game for them. But the upgrade in pass protection — Hunt led the league in Pro Football Focus’ pass-blocking efficiency (he allowed only five pressures over 360 reps) — could be massive for quarterback Brock Purdy.

OL Ezra Cleveland

The 49ers have been interested in Cleveland for years now, dating to when he came out of Boise State in 2020. They had their eye on him before last season’s trade deadline. Cleveland is an exceptionally fast lineman — he ran a 4.93 40-yard dash at the 2020 NFL scouting combine — and that’s lent itself to good zone-blocking performance. But he’s about 20 pounds lighter than the 330-pound Hunt, so Cleveland would likely offer only a nominal upgrade in pass protection.

DE Bryce Huff

Like Greenard, Huff has played in a similar system with the New York Jets and can hit the ground running if he joins the 49ers. He’s the kind of twitchy defensive end the 49ers have liked in the past — see: Dee Ford, Samson Ebukam — and he’s coming off a 10-sack season. However, at 6-2, 255 pounds, Huff is undersized for the position and not well suited to set edges against the run. He was more of a specialist in New York, just playing 42 percent of the team’s defensive snaps last season. Bosa, by contrast, played 75 percent. None of the 49ers’ other backup defensive ends on the roster, Drake Jackson and Robert Beal Jr., excel as run defenders, either. Huff could cost around $15 million a year.

LB Azeez Al-Shaair

On one hand, it’s hard to see the 49ers spending big money on a linebacker considering they’ve already done so with two of their own — Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw — and because they drafted a pair of linebackers last year, Dee Winters and Jalen Graham. Greenlaw’s mid-February Achilles injury, however, complicates the matter. If the 49ers are worried he might not be ready at the start of the season, former 49er Al-Shaair would be an easy fit. He’s very close with Warner and Greenlaw and he’d be able to slide into Greenlaw’s weakside position immediately. The problem is Al-Shaair will be pricey with some thinking he could get a contract worth as much as $10 million a year.

CB Darious Williams

Williams spent his first four years in the league with the Los Angeles Rams, including 2020 when he played for new 49ers assistant Brandon Staley. At 5-9, Williams is undersized for an outside cornerback. But he has terrific speed and last season recorded 15 pass breakups and four interceptions for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Opposing quarterbacks had a lowly 69.6 passer rating when targeting him. Adding someone like Williams would mean that Deommodore Lenoir becomes the full-time nickel cornerback.

NCB Kenny Moore II

The 49ers prefer experienced veterans at nickel cornerback, and that’s what Moore is. He’s a seven-year veteran who’s coming off his best season, one in which he finished with three interceptions and 115 tackles, 10 of them behind the line of scrimmage. Signing Moore, 28, would allow Lenoir to settle in at outside cornerback where he made big strides in 2023. The downside: Moore could get a contract worth $5 to $8 million a year.

WR Darnell Mooney

Kyle Shanahan has constantly wanted a speedy, field-stretching threat at receiver. If Danny Gray isn’t the man for that job, perhaps the 49ers can find value in Mooney, who hasn’t managed to crack the 500-yard mark over the past two seasons after a breakout 1,055-yard campaign in 2021. That drop-off should make Mooney affordable, perhaps on a one-year, prove-it deal to set up a bigger contract opportunity in 2025. The 49ers should be an attractive fit, given how well Purdy delivered downfield last season. His completion rate of 63.8 percent on passes of 20 or more yards downfield led the NFL.

OL Graham Glasgow

The Detroit Lions’ offensive line gave the 49ers major problems during the NFC Championship Game. The 49ers can raid a piece from perhaps their most serious challenger in the NFC. Glasgow surged as a run blocker in 2023. He’d been better in pass protection in past seasons, but this is a relatively balanced performer who has starting experience at every spot on the interior line — including center. It should be fascinating to track how much the 49ers are willing to invest in the offensive line via free agency. They’ll also have the draft, but rookies are obviously lesser-known commodities.

TE Noah Fant

At last week’s combine, 49ers general manager John Lynch noted the benefits of having two true threats at tight end. George Kittle remains a premium piece at one of the spots, but the 49ers have struggled to land a bona fide counterpunch. Enter Kittle’s former teammate and successor at Iowa. Fant caught 68 passes for the Denver Broncos in 2021. He went to the Seattle Seahawks as part of the Russell Wilson trade after that season. Injuries curtailed Fant’s production in 2023. He caught only 19 passes for 261 yards, but that slowdown might allow the 49ers to grab Fant at an affordable rate.

WR DJ Chark

Chark ran the fastest 40-yard dash of any receiver at the NFL combine (4.34) in 2018. He managed a 1,008-yard 2019 season, but Chark hasn’t become a consistently prolific NFL receiver. But he also hasn’t been part of any truly loaded offenses. He can potentially deliver the same field-stretching impact as Mooney but at a lower price. Chark is still only 27 years old.

WR Deonte Harty

The 5-6, 170-pound Harty is one of the twitchier players in the NFL. The Buffalo Bills just released him to alleviate some of their salary-cap issues. Harty was an All-Pro for the New Orleans Saints in 2019, the year he led the NFL in punt return yardage. Ray-Ray McCloud III’s contract is set to expire so the 49ers should be looking for a specialist in the return game. Harty can also be an intriguing gadget weapon in Shanahan’s offense.

WR Kendrick Bourne

The former 49ers’ wideout was on pace to deliver career-best numbers before tearing his ACL in 2023. Bourne continued the growth he began with the 49ers over his three seasons in New England, developing into a bulldog after the catch. Bourne was in Las Vegas before the Super Bowl last month and said that his rehabilitation from knee surgery is going well. The market might be tough for a receiver who’ll be 29 years old coming off a major injury, but Bourne is a homegrown 49er who’s familiar with their system. He can potentially man the key role that veteran wideout Chris Conley filled this past season.

QB Drew Lock

Assuming Sam Darnold leaves for a more lucrative opportunity to compete for a starting job elsewhere, the 49ers can sign another QB at a discount relative to the physical talent on hand. Lock might fit that bill. He was decent with the Seahawks and could ensure the 49ers field an acceptable No. 2. Maybe Zach Wilson, if the New York Jets release him, can also fit here. Multiple quarterbacks have shown significant improvement under QB coach Brian Griese.

NCB Arthur Maulet

A cheaper alternative to Moore at nickel cornerback is Maulet, 30, who’s also coming off his best NFL season. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and has been on five teams — including two stints with the Saints — since. He played 408 defensive snaps for the Baltimore Ravens last season and only gave up one touchdown. Maulet’s contract might be more reasonable than Moore’s — perhaps around $2 million a year.

OL Jon Runyan

He’s not the greatest run blocker, but Runyan logged a very good pass-blocking efficiency score — ranked No. 7 — at right guard last season for the Green Bay Packers. He’s also played on the left side. If the 49ers are looking for a pass protection upgrade at a moderate price, this might be a good spot to look. Runyan is the son of the former All-Pro NFL lineman of the same name.

DT Maurice Hurst II

The 49ers have long wanted Hurst in their defensive lineup, but he was hurt when he was with them in 2021 and ’22. He finally got healthy as a member of the Cleveland Browns last season and played well until suffering a pectoral injury late in the season. If the 49ers gave him a second shot, he’d be a low-cost, veteran complement to youngster Kalia Davis on the 49ers’ second-string defensive line.

NCB Keisean Nixon

Nixon is interesting because he’s been a return man for the Packers in addition to playing nickel cornerback and has led the NFL in kickoff return yardage the last two seasons. He hasn’t been as prolific as a punt returner — 25 attempts in the last two seasons — which is where the 49ers would have a bigger need if McCloud leaves in free agency. Opposing quarterbacks had a 100.7 passer rating when targeting Nixon last season.

LB Kwon Alexander

If the 49ers wanted a budget option who’s already familiar with their system they could tap Alexander, who was in San Francisco in 2019 and part of 2020. He, too, could step into Greenlaw’s starter role immediately and then shift to the strongside spot — a part-time role — when Greenlaw is full-go. One big issue: Alexander is coming off his own Achilles injury, albeit one suffered three months before Greenlaw had his. Another: The 49ers would like their third linebacker to be a core special teamer and Alexander hasn’t done much on special teams in recent years.

(Top photos of Danielle Hunter, Kendrick Bourne and Kwon Alexander:
Tork Mason, Bob DeChiara and Philip G. Pavely / USA Today)