The San Francisco 49ers were hoping to get a productive cornerback in free agency this offseason and it appears Sean Smith might be their guy. The San Francisco 49ers have been relatively quiet in free agency, but adding a cornerback like Sean Smith would be huge. San Francisco lost out on the battle for the services of cornerback Janoris Jenkins, making Smith is the next-best option in free agency.
San Francisco would rather use its first-round pick on an offensive lineman than have to focus on a need they could have taken care of in free agency, considering they just lost a locker-room leader in Alex Boone. The 49ers have a ton of cap space and still have enough room to sign one more big name, impact player. They will have the seventh overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, and will likely target an offensive lineman or inside linebacker, so Smith might be the best option for the 49ers to upgrade this secondary.
Smith has had a good career in Kansas City, starting 45 out of 48 games and recording 142 tackles, 41 pass defenses, and five interceptions during his three-season stint with the Chiefs. Smith played for the Miami Dolphins in the beginning of his career and produced similar numbers (63 out of 64 games started, 211 tackles, 40 pass defenses, five interceptions).
His consistency is one of the main reasons he is such a big target in free agency and would be an absolute upgrade for the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers need some secondary help as they rebuild their roster and would like to get some insurance in free agency rather than spend early draft picks on this defensive reclamation project.
The 49ers would like to position themselves to where they could draft a new franchise quarterback and focus on the offense a bit earlier on during the draft. The 49ers will also need to focus on bringing in a new inside linebacker, and they will eventually need to find a starting quality wide receiver. Since they missed out on Marvin Jones, they could potentially be targeting Mohamed Sanu in free agency.