The Front Office: Adam Peters and Roster Construction

[Commander Wraith]

At this point, I’m mostly fine with Peters. Overall, I think this team is much more talented than the one he inherited. I’d feel better about him though if there weren’t some real head scratchers. Everyone makes mistakes in the draft and free agency. But when your mistakes seem like obvious mistakes, that an entire football forum can point out in real time, that makes me nervous.

Biadasz is the biggest one to me. If you don’t want him to start anymore, why not keep him as a backup? It makes no sense unless they were on a cash budget and needed the money.

Yeah, I don’t know if we’ll ever get the full rationale regarding Biadasz. Taking a (very) generous view of the situation, perhaps Peters heard from multiple (or key) players/staff as to the mental side of Biadasz’s game causing issues. If a byproduct of that was Daniels taking hits, that problem becomes magnified. I can overlook not trading him, and to your point, maybe cash was an issue, but my preference would have been to either trade him down the road, or keep him for camp competition or to serve as a backup.

I don’t really understand why they weren’t more aggressive in the secondary. There were good corners available early in free agency, and we appeared entirely disinterested. I think Cross was a very good signing, but free safety still worries me.

FS is concerning. Perhaps we’re dismissing Harris too quickly, and I know Daronte singled out Quan in his press conference, but it’s hard to feel any confidence at the position. I do recall a tweet that they were in on Riq Woolen, but it was one tweet and just one player. Robertson was an ok signing, but would have liked to see more aggressiveness there. I do feel a good deal better with Douglas in the fold.

If the center position or the secondary are our downfall this year, everyone on BGO can say, “I told you so.”

Yep

Lastly, the lack of aggression the previous offseason. Why wasn’t Peters pushing hard to help us take the next step? Tunsil was a great move, but any of us could have seen that WR was going to be a problem, and it was very predictable that the defense would be a problem

Again, I think there’s a generous view that could be taken here, and I do think there is an element of our using hindsight to judge AP’s moves as well as the “everything that could go wrong went wrong” factor. No matter how you slice it though, 2025 wasn’t an “aggressive” offseason FA-wise, so I’m with you.

Now, as to that generous view, and this applies to other positions and facets (run D, run game, etc) that I won’t go into, but I’ll use the most controversial spot - receiver - as an example. I remember when we signed Deebo, Josh Taylor broke down some film and one of his conclusions was that he liked Deebo more on the outside. So if Kliff felt the same, you’ve got Deebo out wide, with Brown backing him up and getting some snaps if/when Deebo moves inside. Luke and Lane compete for slot reps, but again, Deebo can move inside for some or all (if need be) of those roughly 50-60% of snaps. The “Jags” (Moore, Gallup, Chosen) and young guys compete for 5th or 6th spot, depending on how Lane/Luke look.

Could that have worked? Yeah? Maybe? There was upside - Deebo, on paper, was a better running mate than Terry has had to this point, and we had some interesting youth. The problem is (and again, this applies to other positions) is two-fold IMO - what if it doesn’t, and why not do more? Why not, to your point, be more aggressive? Particularly after Daniels showed his quality the year before and him being on a rookie contract.

I have a tendency to be more lenient that many/most with people until I feel confident in the sample size… in part because there’s a lot of info we (as outsiders) don’t have access to, and in part because a lot of this stuff is easier said than done. So I’m willing to look at things through that “generous” lens, even if I have been trained to temper my expectations over the years. That 2024 season gave a lot of weight to my consideration of AP’s maneuvering going into 2025. While those hopes were dashed, him seeming to alter his strategy a bit this offseason looks to be a good step forward. We’ll have to see how things play out.

 

[HTTR]

He's too expensive to be a backup. They didn't want him to be a starter, that's fine. Releasing him is also fine. Chasing Lindy was fine. Not getting Lindy and default going with Allegretti as the starter was fine. Drafting a guy in the 6th round as depth was fine. Not bringing in another proven starter level C to compete was not fine.

This I would normally agree with. But is he really too expensive when we have all that cap space? I’d rather have an expensive backup than not use that money on anything. And it’s not like it wouldn’t have been off the books going forward after this season anyway.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

This I would normally agree with. But is he really too expensive when we have all that cap space? I’d rather have an expensive backup than not use that money on anything. And it’s not like it wouldn’t have been off the books going forward after this season anyway.

It's cap and cash. You don't want to pay somebody $8m to just sit around. And it sets bad precedent from a contract negotiation perspective. We know that they have a cash budget as well as a cap budget. Whether we want that to exist or not, it does. And I don't think they had any interest in spending $8m on somebody who they didn't even want to compete for the starting job, they just wanted him gone.

Also, and this is not to move the goalposts, I still think it's too expensive for a backup center, however, do you really want a player around who just got demoted? I don't think that's a good idea for team chemistry either.

 

[NickyJ]

Brandon Coleman has been demoted from every position he's played for the team. Andrew Wylie got demoted. The safeties are a revolving door of demotions. They may not love being demoted,, but they still get their paychecks anyway. After seeing Nick Martin "play" center a few years ago, I've come to believe that centers are a lot more valuable than they're usually rated at. There are great ones and okay ones, but if you don't have one from the small list of either, it's not a long fall from a mediocre center's talent floor to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

 

[DWinzit]

Brandon Coleman has been demoted from every position he's played for the team. Andrew Wylie got demoted. The safeties are a revolving door of demotions. They may not love being demoted,, but they still get their paychecks anyway. After seeing Nick Martin "play" center a few years ago, I've come to believe that centers are a lot more valuable than they're usually rated at. There are great ones and okay ones, but if you don't have one from the small list of either, it's not a long fall from a mediocre center's talent floor to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Coleman has been moved all around. He proved himself a fine T and a very reliable swing T. I look forward to seeing him battle for the LG spot but also know he could be called to duty at either T spot with any injury there. I am not a big fan of now trying to squeeze him into the C spot. It takes time to learn the position and not the best idea to just toss him there for a try. I might have more faith in Gulbin with no NFL experience. I don't trust Good-Jones though as our backup

 

[Anselmheifer]

It's cap and cash. You don't want to pay somebody $8m to just sit around. And it sets bad precedent from a contract negotiation perspective. We know that they have a cash budget as well as a cap budget. Whether we want that to exist or not, it does. And I don't think they had any interest in spending $8m on somebody who they didn't even want to compete for the starting job, they just wanted him gone.

Also, and this is not to move the goalposts, I still think it's too expensive for a backup center, however, do you really want a player around who just got demoted? I don't think that's a good idea for team chemistry either.

So we basically agree. I said the only way it made sense is if it was because we were operating in a cash budget and releasing him allowed us to do other things.

That makes logical sense, but I still think we should have kept him. If you’re trying to win a championship and have a franchise QB on a rookie deal, push your chips in as an owner and try to win.

 

[SkinsFTW]

So we basically agree. I said the only way it made sense is if it was because we were operating in a cash budget and releasing him allowed us to do other things.

That makes logical sense, but I still think we should have kept him. If you’re trying to win a championship and have a franchise QB on a rookie deal, push your chips in as an owner and try to win.

The problem with keeping him is they extended Allegretti for half his pay after cutting him.

That's probably not going to work for the same price when Allegretti is going to be the starter and making much less money.

 

[burgold]

Coleman has been moved all around. He proved himself a fine T and a very reliable swing T. I look forward to seeing him battle for the LG spot but also know he could be called to duty at either T spot with any injury there. I am not a big fan of now trying to squeeze him into the C spot. It takes time to learn the position and not the best idea to just toss him there for a try. I might have more faith in Gulbin with no NFL experience. I don't trust Good-Jones though as our backup

Yeah, part of me still thinks they made a mistake not keeping Coleman at tackle.

 

[Anselmheifer]

Yeah, part of me still thinks they made a mistake not keeping Coleman at tackle.

We are going to find out this year. If Conerly looks really good, and the OL is good, the. It wasn’t a mistake.

But also, the long term future may still be Conerly at LT and Coleman at RT after Tunsil is done. You never know.

 

[Primus Porcus]

We are going to find out this year. If Conerly looks really good, and the OL is good, the. It wasn’t a mistake.

But also, the long term future may still be Conerly at LT and Coleman at RT after Tunsil is done. You never know.

I think this is a very real possibility, I just hope we have a chance to see if that was the path. With the Tunsil extension, it wont happen until (or right around the same time) Conerly is due to sign his next deal. If Quinn/Peters are jettisoned out of here, we may never get to see the actual plan unfold.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

We are going to find out this year. If Conerly looks really good, and the OL is good, the. It wasn’t a mistake.

But also, the long term future may still be Conerly at LT and Coleman at RT after Tunsil is done. You never know.

Tunsil should have 5 more years as a top end LT.

I really don't mind investing extra at OT. Coleman was a 3rd round pick. He's now owed anything. In successive years they used a 3rd then 1st on OT. I'm never going to complain about that. And they traded for a top 5 LT.

Think back to all the years when Jay Gruden was trying to say that Shawn Lauvao was a good player (he wasn't) or all the has beens Ron brought in.

If there is one unit of the team which I have no problem investing in heavily it's OL.

I get that there is a ? at center, but overall, I can't complain about the resources spent on the OL or how it's turned out. I really want Coleman to win the LG job, though.

 

[bh32]

So when is AP gonna start taking some heat for this abysmal OL? How anyone thinks he is a good GM is just insane.

He was handed a bounty of draft picks in 2024 and squandered every single one of them on players that make very little impact or are flat out bust.

the 2025 draft isn't looking much better either..

 

[NickyJ]

The weeks of the offseason where some fans were patting the FO on the back and saying the team couldn't afford Diggs or any other receivers because the team wisely spent all the available money on a highly ranked offensive line is looking really funny now.

 

[DWinzit]

I am still thrilled with the Diggs pickup. It made our WR group a strength instead of a question mark

It looks like we may need to keep QB3 on the 53 based on the Rifles play last night. I was initially figuring they could release him then put him on the PS. Not sure I'd be willing to risk losing him with only Hartman on the roster. I'd hate to see another Nate Sudfield situation

Will Harris is probably out

 

[burgold]

The Diggs pickup looks to be great. On paper, I really liked what we did to upgrade our D. I'm pretty happy with our running back room and our tight ends. Interior o line and maybe DB are the areas I worry about. Now, DB might have an answer if Amos ever gets healthy. Center may too, but the depth is so bad, I think it's critical we find an answer because the team can't be sure Allegretti is starter quality and because since he's been dinged twice you can't trust he'll make it through the season.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I’ve said the 2024 draft really had to step up this years. If Coleman plays well at LT (again), that would be something.

Something to just keep in mind, while there was an obvious gap at Center, the construction of the rest of the line was pretty brilliant:

LT: top 5 player at his position
LG: probably a very athletic draft pick
C: guy who they like who’s played well for them at times
RG: pro bowl level player
RT: second year 1st round pick

Backups are the starting guard from last year (Paul) and a pretty good “do everything” guy in Wylie. And a guy who's just a solid 3rd string guy in Trent Scott. If you can carry Trent Scott on your roster and keep him inactive on gamedays, that's actually a boon.

That’s a good group.

Tunsil getting hurt blew it all up.

The whole roster construction looks entirely different if they can get production from 2 or 3 of the 2nd and 3rd round 2024 picks. They're not going to get anything from Newton, and he might go down as the worst pick Peters made. But if Coleman starts at LT, and they can get something out of Sainristil, McCaffery or Sinnott, that draft and the roster looks a whole lot better.

Newton is a lost cause, I think.

To me, the key is Sainristil. The reporting is he's had a tough camp. But if he plays well in the regular season (big if), then that's actually 3 starters from that draft, Daniels, Coleman and Sainristil, and they get some production from McCaffery in kickoff returns and WR, that really changes the whole complexion of the class.

 

[burgold]

I think we could have survived one. We didn't have the depth to survive two. Allegretti should come back and he should stabilize things somewhat, but he's still a question mark.

Hopefully, there are some surprising cuts. It was supposedly a really good draft for centers. Maybe some teams will make some cost saving moves and we can get a good one.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

So when is AP gonna start taking some heat for this abysmal OL? How anyone thinks he is a good GM is just insane.

He was handed a bounty of draft picks in 2024 and squandered every single one of them on players that make very little impact or are flat out bust.

the 2025 draft isn't looking much better either..

I think he's taking a ton of heat, some deserved, some not deserved.

The 2024 draft:
1st round pick 2: Daniels. Looks like a grand slam
2nd round pick 36: Newton looks like a complete bust
2nd round pick 50: Sainristil - HUGE year for him. He's going to start. Played well as a rookie. Need to see that level of production
2nd round pick 53: Sinnott - Bad fit pick. Shouldn't have been picked because he was a total non-fit for Kliff. We'll see if he's better in the Blough offense. Doesn't look good right now, but that could change.
3rd round pick 67: Coleman - started at LT his rookie year, down second year due to injury, and now is the starting LT again, was going to be the starting LG. He might turn out to be the best of the 2nd/3rd round picks.
3rd round pick 100: McCaffery - elite kick returner, but need more from him at WR. Seems to have had a good camp, we'll see how he does at WR.
5th round pick 139: Magee - for a 5th round guy, he's been a fine backup. Hurt a bunch his rookie season.
5th round pick 161: Hampton - already gone
7th round pick 222: Jean-Baptiste - actually a steal in the 7th round. He was really good as a rotational guy last year until he got hurt, and is doing a good job this year.

2025 draft:
1st round pick 29: Conerly - started like a rookie and played pretty well towards the end of the season. There was a lot of optimism he's going to lock down the RT spot for years. He's not Joe Jacoby, but he's in his second year. Positive signs
2nd round pick 61: Amos - looked really good as a rookie, but has practiced one day this off-season due injury and that's mad concerning. If he's back healthy, he NEEDS to play well. Without the injury, this looked like a slam dunk. With the injury, eh?
4th round pick 128: Lane - elite punt returner, best we've had since Brian Mitchell. Quinn and others have said he's one of the most improved players on the team from year 1 to year 2. So we'll see how he can contribute as a WR. But definitely not a bust of a pick by any means.
6 round pick 205: Medrano - they love him on ST I believe. He's a 6th round backup LB.
7th round pick 245: Jacory "Bill" Croskey-Merritt. He might be the starting RB, and might have earned that job. That would be a heck of a good pick if so.

The 2026 draft, who knows.

We'll see. No GM is going to hit every pick. In order for the 2024 draft to have "hit" they need 3 of the 6 2nd/3rd round picks to lock in as starters. That could be Coleman and Sainristil. Where they other guy comes from, that's a question.

For the 2025 draft to hit, Amos has to stay healthy, Conerly has to develop, and one other guy (Bill?) has to be a starter. That looks likely.

 

[method man]

I think he's taking a ton of heat, some deserved, some not deserved.

The 2024 draft:
1st round pick 2: Daniels. Looks like a grand slam
2nd round pick 36: Newton looks like a complete bust
2nd round pick 50: Sainristil - HUGE year for him. He's going to start. Played well as a rookie. Need to see that level of production
2nd round pick 53: Sinnott - Bad fit pick. Shouldn't have been picked because he was a total non-fit for Kliff. We'll see if he's better in the Blough offense. Doesn't look good right now, but that could change.
3rd round pick 67: Coleman - started at LT his rookie year, down second year due to injury, and now is the starting LT again, was going to be the starting LG. He might turn out to be the best of the 2nd/3rd round picks.
3rd round pick 100: McCaffery - elite kick returner, but need more from him at WR. Seems to have had a good camp, we'll see how he does at WR.
5th round pick 139: Magee - for a 5th round guy, he's been a fine backup. Hurt a bunch his rookie season.
5th round pick 161: Hampton - already gone
7th round pick 222: Jean-Baptiste - actually a steal in the 7th round. He was really good as a rotational guy last year until he got hurt, and is doing a good job this year.

2025 draft:
1st round pick 29: Conerly - started like a rookie and played pretty well towards the end of the season. There was a lot of optimism he's going to lock down the RT spot for years. He's not Joe Jacoby, but he's in his second year. Positive signs
2nd round pick 61: Amos - looked really good as a rookie, but has practiced one day this off-season due injury and that's mad concerning. If he's back healthy, he NEEDS to play well. Without the injury, this looked like a slam dunk. With the injury, eh?
4th round pick 128: Lane - elite punt returner, best we've had since Brian Mitchell. Quinn and others have said he's one of the most improved players on the team from year 1 to year 2. So we'll see how he can contribute as a WR. But definitely not a bust of a pick by any means.
6 round pick 205: Medrano - they love him on ST I believe. He's a 6th round backup LB.
7th round pick 245: Jacory "Bill" Croskey-Merritt. He might be the starting RB, and might have earned that job. That would be a heck of a good pick if so.

The 2026 draft, who knows.

We'll see. No GM is going to hit every pick. In order for the 2024 draft to have "hit" they need 3 of the 6 2nd/3rd round picks to lock in as starters. That could be Coleman and Sainristil. Where they other guy comes from, that's a question.

For the 2025 draft to hit, Amos has to stay healthy, Conerly has to develop, and one other guy (Bill?) has to be a starter. That looks likely.

- I don’t give him credit for Daniels. Everyone was picking either Maye or Daniels. As I said in another thread, it worries me he had McCarthy instead of Maye in his draft rankings. If we had had the #3 pick in the 24 draft and had taken McCarthy, he would’ve already been fired

- Newton is not only a bust but he was also a bit of a luxury pick given we already had Payne and Allen on the team. Also, if they wanted to go DT, the next two taken were T’Vondre Sweat and Braden Fiske. Both guys are starting DTs in this league

- Sainristil is currently a bust where things stand. This is a “what have you done lately for me league” and he was one of the league’s worst corners last season. For the record, in the trade back, everyone brings up DeJean but AP the next two picks after DeJean were Kool Aid (a legit starting CB) and Lassiter (Pro Bowl CB).

- Sinnott is currently a bust. Even if he ends up being productive, when you reach for a TE graded by consensus as a rd 3-5 pick, that guy better be a starter

- For Coleman, yes injury played a role last year but he lost his starting job to Paul after his poor play in the GB game. If he can play an average starting LT for a least 3/4ths of the games this year, he is a hit

- You call Luke an elite KR but is he really providing unique value? Deebo and Ekeler were also both elite kick returners here.

- Magee is an oft injured backup linebacker who was thought of so highly that AP decided to bring a starter in in FA in Chenal to pair with Luvu and then drafted Styles too. He is still on the roster so not a miss.

- JJB is a hit for a 7th round pick. Got some production out of him

Big year for the 2025 class but it definitely isn’t one that makes you go wow. Bottom line is one major reason the fans were excited about AP is because SF absolutely killed it in Day 3 during his tenure. There is no Kittle, DJ Reed, Hufanga, etc that looks like it is coming out of 2024 or 2025 Day 3. Hopefully, Josephs can go hit a Pro Bowl caliber level down the road from this class

 

[NoCalSkins]

I've been a pretty big Adam Peters defender since he was hired considering the task at hand rebuilding an entire roster with little leftover from the previous regime worth keeping. I also still ultimately felt this was at least a 4-5 season project despite any isolated seasons where they might overachieve. However, considering they landed the jackpot with Jayden Daniels at the very beginning and this will now have been his (AP) fourth offseason passing by and Jayden's third season, I do think that if the O-line ends up mediocre (outside of multiple catastrophic injuries during the season) then it should be considered some form of malpractice.

The first priority when starting from scratch is finding your franchise QB. Sometimes it takes GM several rounds of misses before finding the right guy and AP nabbed him right out of the gate. Great! The second priority should be PROTECT YOUR YOUNG QB and I think while some resources have definitely been put into that, the results so far are mixed.