The Front Office: Adam Peters and Roster Construction

[KDawg]

Great point.
It's very possible our strikeouts are based around Blough and the instability at O. Looking at playing with JD as great but what about if he gets injured and that getting factored in. Lots of potential reasons to put us down a couple of spots.

That's OK.

Then you have to pivot to a deeper strategy on draft for O, maybe trade down and get RB and WR covered with good assets that you need. I'm not sure if a single blue-chip player moves the needle enough on his own. I gather from reading everyone here that some (including you!) think Love may be that guy; if so, awesome if he's available.

Regardless though, I do think they have options in the draft now if D is covered much better, which I think we can all agree it is. Perfect? Of course not. Much better though.

Also, I think Aiyuk is of course still on the table, although I don't remember when he's even slated to be available?

If I was grading the entire offseason so far, including coaches and player acquisition, it’s better than I thought it would be, but not where we need it.

Coaches is a D-
FA (to date, allowing room to get guys) B-

That puts us overall as a C.

Can go up or down still but it’s better than I thought so far, which is a positive.

Someone will read this and take this as overly negative, but it’s not supposed to be. It’s just honest.

 

[method man]

Had they gotten both Hendrickson and Oweh, I would’ve had to give them an A. Had we been able to get both, that would have legitimately increased the ceiling and given us a real shot at a top 10 defense

 

[BayouBrave86]

I’m just stoked we are getting younger and more athletic on defense at all levels.

Daronte is gonna cook.

 

[burgold]

Had they gotten both Hendrickson and Oweh, I would’ve had to give them an A. Had we been able to get both, that would have legitimately increased the ceiling and given us a real shot at a top 10 defense

Maybe it's last year, but especially coming off a major injury I have just never wanted Hendrickson. He just feels like the kind of old former star vet that we would get and would immediately be really old, ineffective, then get injured and we'd be forced to cut them after year one.

 

[method man]

Maybe it's last year, but especially coming off a major injury I have just never wanted Hendrickson. He just feels like the kind of old former star vet that we would get and would immediately be really old, ineffective, then get injured and we'd be forced to cut them after year one.

The guy got a core muscle injury after holding in through most of training camp. Not a surprise.

When he did play this year, he was his awesome self, 83 PFF grade and 23 pressures off 285 snaps.

Since 2020, he barely missed any game. Maybe 1-2 a season and played all 17 games in 23 and 24

Also worth noting he turned 31 in Dec so he’d play most of the 26 season at 31

 

[RedWolf]

Seems that a lot of the complaining has quieted down today, that's good

 

[burgold]

The guy got a core muscle injury after holding in through most of training camp. Not a surprise.

When he did play this year, he was his awesome self, 83 PFF grade and 23 pressures off 285 snaps.

Since 2020, he barely missed any game. Maybe 1-2 a season and played all 17 games in 23 and 24

Fair. For whatever reason, I just don't like him. Never wanted him.

 

[method man]

Something I've been thinking about is how many of these special teams only players can we roster next season? By my count, Bellore, Owens, Butler and LMC fit the bill as guys who are special teams "starters" who are pretty useless on defense/offense. Having these types of guys was fine in 2024 when the team stayed healthy but we got exposed in 2025, especially at safety with Reavo ultimately being our best safety and Butler and Owens not stepping up.

With the depth we've added this year and a fresh draft incoming, I'm guessing 1-2 of these guys are not on the season opening roster in 2026. In fact, I feel confident that you could cut Bellore, put him on PS, call him up 3x and then promote him to the active roster once someone eventually hits IR

 

[burgold]

I really felt like LMC was on the verge of getting it. He was starting to make 2 or so plays a game before the collarbone. It'd be amazing if the light went on and he was able to be a trusted receiver out there.

 

[RedWolf]

Who is "LMC"?

 

[Boone]

McCaffrey

 

[method man]

I really felt like LMC was on the verge of getting it. He was starting to make 2 or so plays a game before the collarbone. It'd be amazing if the light went on and he was able to be a trusted receiver out there.

I remember a lot of blown coverages and him making open plays benefiting him

 

[ES1974]

A fairly dismal start to FA has been rescued pretty well. Somehow pull of a move to snag a quality WR and I’ll be impressed.

Less concerned at RB when we have the potential to get an elite prospect in the draft. Will be other more than decent options after that too.

I’m probably more concerned with our corner situation after WR.

 

[Bulldog]

Ideally, I would like to see a WR in the draft taken high to be the eventual replacement for Terry.

You can bring in a character veteran or bargain player or a guy like Aiyuk that has baggage but these are not options for anything but 2026.

Even if we brought in Aiyuk and he had a very good season would I feel comfortable then giving him another big money deal?

Hell no.

Aiyuk was willing to leave $30M on the table just to fight a social media war with the 49ers in 2025 and refuse to live up to his contract obligations.

If the opportunity came up to acquire a Brian Thomas Jr. or other younger receiver who has already shown they can play, I would be interested in that too.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I really felt like LMC was on the verge of getting it. He was starting to make 2 or so plays a game before the collarbone. It'd be amazing if the light went on and he was able to be a trusted receiver out there.

Peters needs two of the 2nd/3rd round picks to really hit. I thought he had one with Sainristil, but last year that was a mess. Maybe not his fault. But it was a mess.

Newton has been replacement level (if that),
Sainristil had a really promising start
Sinnott has been a good blocker
Coleman was a good LT, got beat out by Paul for LG.
McCaffery has been really good at kick returns, but not great as a receiver

My bet would be if 2 were going to hit, it would be Sainristil and Coleman. If they turn into good to very good starters, then the 2024 draft class looks pretty good.

If they don't, then that's a lot of wasted top 100 picks.

I still have hope. All these guys need to have big step forward seasons.

As I've posted before, these 5 guys not taking a step forward in 2025 was a HUGE part of why the 2025 plan blew up in their faces. They were expecting the draft class to contribute more from season 1 to season 2. Especailly probably Sainristil and Coleman building on promising rookie seasons.

Newton, I'm sure they thought would take a big step forward because he was healthy. And McCaffrey has all the tools, but made the switch to WR late in college so it was going to take a while.

But literally nothing materialized for any of them, Sainristil and Coleman took steps backwards.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

Peters needs two of the 2nd/3rd round picks to really hit. I thought he had one with Sainristil, but last year that was a mess. Maybe not his fault. But it was a mess.

Newton has been replacement level (if that),
Sainristil had a really promising start
Sinnott has been a good blocker
Coleman was a good LT, got beat out by Paul for LG.
McCaffery has been really good at kick returns, but not great as a receiver

My bet would be if 2 were going to hit, it would be Sainristil and Coleman. If they turn into good to very good starters, then the 2024 draft class looks pretty good.

If they don't, then that's a lot of wasted top 100 picks.

I still have hope. All these guys need to have big step forward seasons.

As I've posted before, these 5 guys not taking a step forward in 2025 was a HUGE part of why the 2025 plan blew up in their faces. They were expecting the draft class to contribute more from season 1 to season 2. Especailly probably Sainristil and Coleman building on promising rookie seasons.

Newton, I'm sure they thought would take a big step forward because he was healthy. And McCaffrey has all the tools, but made the switch to WR late in college so it was going to take a while.

But literally nothing materialized for any of them, Sainristil and Coleman took steps backwards.

It is a lot of misses. For a seasoned GM it is a huge issue.

I am not personally sure how much you get angry/upset with him being new. I don’t know what it looked like “in the room.” I also think as usual: process over results. While a true eval would mean we need to be in the room, at least we can judge his results as early as possible (before their NFL and coaching here altered their course; right at draft time).

So: did people actually think that draft was horrible at the time? Most people thought many of the Rivera era picks were head scratchers right at draft time. Our 2024 picks had some risks, but as I recall, didn’t get horrible reviews.

As you said, to improve, we need to be better. However: I do think you have to be careful on getting overly upset when the picks did have some promise. I think in terms of “process” though, you can see some tweaks over these two experiences. I think he was more hesitant to trade back in 2025. It will be interesting to see the philosophy play out in 2026.

Btw - not saying you are saying we should be upset at AP or anything. Just something that was rattling in my head for the past few months.

 

[burgold]

What are the hit rates on drafted receivers?

It feels like there are a tremendous number of successful 2nd and 3rd rounders, but that could just be a matter of numbers. There are a lot of receivers on the field every play so you can't just get them in the first. I know people have done research on this. What is the boom/bust rate for drafted receiver per round?

 

[Chris]

 

[Bulldog]

It is a lot of misses. For a seasoned GM it is a huge issue.

I am not personally sure how much you get angry/upset with him being new. I don’t know what it looked like “in the room.” I also think as usual: process over results. While a true eval would mean we need to be in the room, at least we can judge his results as early as possible (before their NFL and coaching here altered their course; right at draft time).

So: did people actually think that draft was horrible at the time? Most people thought many of the Rivera era picks were head scratchers right at draft time. Our 2024 picks had some risks, but as I recall, didn’t get horrible reviews.

As you said, to improve, we need to be better. However: I do think you have to be careful on getting overly upset when the picks did have some promise. I think in terms of “process” though, you can see some tweaks over these two experiences. I think he was more hesitant to trade back in 2025. It will be interesting to see the philosophy play out in 2026.

Btw - not saying you are saying we should be upset at AP or anything. Just something that was rattling in my head for the past few months.

It is noticeable to me that Peters did a much better overall job in 2025 picking #29 in each round in getting Conerly Jr, Amos, Lane, Merritt, etc.

Instead of just sticking with the picks at the spots and taking the highest guy on most boards, Peters instead got cute in 2024 and let Roseman make a trade to nab pro bowl corner Cooper DeJean when we were in perfect position to take him ourselves and had a glaring need there.

Meanwhile, Sinnott was rated by most NFL evaluators as a late #3 or #4 pick as a developmental player.

You don't take developmental players in Round 2, that's where you are supposed to be looking for guys that dropped out of the first round for no ostensible reason or a guy that is legitimately viewed as a player that can come in and contribute in Year 1. We are now in Year 3.

McCaffrey, transitioning from qb to wr later in college, likewise was not the highest rated WR on the board across the league late in Round 3.

 

[ES1974]

It is noticeable to me that Peters did a much better overall job in 2025 picking #29 in each round in getting Conerly Jr, Amos, Lane, Merritt, etc.

Instead of just sticking with the picks at the spots and taking the highest guy on most boards, Peters instead got cute in 2024 and let Roseman make a trade to nab pro bowl corner Cooper DeJean when we were in perfect position to take him ourselves and had a glaring need there.

Meanwhile, Sinnott was rated by most NFL evaluators as a late #3 or #4 pick as a developmental player.

You don't take developmental players in Round 2, that's where you are supposed to be looking for guys that dropped out of the first round for no ostensible reason or a guy that is legitimately viewed as a player that can come in and contribute in Year 1. We are now in Year 3.

McCaffrey, transitioning from qb to wr later in college, likewise was not the highest rated WR on the board across the league late in Round 3.

Agree, there was a clear shift in approach between those 2 years. More focus perhaps?

2024 made for better ‘commander coverage’ with trade calls to Philly and the whole McCaffrey family show. Lesson learnt.