Will the 49ers make a splash trade this offseason?

At the cost of mortgaging their future?

From top to bottom, the San Francisco 49ers have the best overall roster in the NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs found a way to avoid Charvarius Ward, as he was not targeted once in the playoffs. Deommodore Lenoir and Logan Ryan combined for 14 targets, each allowing over seven yards per reception, a few critical first downs, and a touchdown.

Steve Wilks did not trust his cornerbacks to cover, so we saw soft zones toward the end of the fourth quarter. Neither Lenoir nor Ryan could run with the Chiefs wide receivers, which was evident. Lenoir’s future is at Nickel, while Ryan was more of a stopgap as San Francisco didn’t have confidence in Ambry Thomas, either.

In an ideal world, Ward would have followed Rashee Rice or Travis Kelce every play, and the Niners would have made somebody else beat them. In a way, somebody else did beat them, but it wasn’t because Mooney was shadowing a top receiver.

The front office has a philosophy: invest in the defensive line to protect the secondary. The 49ers pressured Patrick Mahomes on 43.6 percent of his dropbacks. And when they did blitz Mahomes, he was 6-for-6 for 50 yards and four first downs.

If you’re not using Mahomes as the bar — he’s one of the sole reasons Kyle Shanahan is ringless — what are we doing? Knowing it’ll take more than pressure, it’s time for the 49ers to take another swing, this time in the secondary.

Bleacher Report proposed the Niners make a trade for Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain, who was robbed of a spot on the All-Pro team this season because voters fell in love with the player who had a ton of interceptions, ignoring what happens on a down-to-down basis.

Surtain was targeted more than DaRon Bland and Mooney, yet gave up fewer yards. He also had more than double the pass breakups as Bland. If you were to ask ten offensive coordinators who you would rather target, it’d be closer to unanimous than 50/50, with the answer being Bland.

Surtain enters the final year of his rookie contract with the Broncos. If you want him, you’ll need to give up premium draft capital and then be prepared to pay him. He’s 24 and already among the best, if not the best, cornerbacks in the NFL. He’d allow whoever the Niners hire as defensive coordinator to be as aggressive as they want.

Here’s the proposed trade from Bleacher Report:

San Francisco 49ers receive: CB Patrick Surtain II

Denver Broncos receive: 2024 first-round pick (No. 31 overall), 2024 second-round pick (No. 63 overall), 2024 third-round pick (No. 94 overall)

The Niners could shore up a weak spot on their roster and set themselves up for sustained success by acquiring cornerback Patrick Surtain II. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, they tried to swing a deal with the Denver Broncos that would have sent Surtain to the Bay Area at this year’s trade deadline but ultimately declined due to a high asking price.

While the Broncos would presumably like to keep Surtain around for years to come, they’re facing major financial ramifications from Russell Wilson’s contract and have been reeling from the loss of draft capital in that trade. Getting a plethora of picks in addition to cap relief—Surtain is eligible for a massive extension this offseason—could potentially sway the Broncos into making a move.

I wonder if the 49ers would be willing to add in a player, no, not Brandon Aiyuk, but another player already on a big contract — perhaps the other starting receiver — instead of throwing in a second-round pick to get the Broncos to agree.

Using your top three draft picks on Surtain may be a bit too rich. The 49ers need to use one of their early picks on a right guard or tackle — maybe two of those picks.

The front office must ask themselves, can we go another season with a Day 3 pick starting at cornerback, right guard, and right tackle? Eventually, in the season’s biggest moments, that player will go against a top-level wideout or a Chris Jones.

Or, will there be a rookie available whom Shanahan trusts enough to start? There’s always free agency; I’d expect one of those three positions to be addressed there. But a player of Surtain’s caliber isn’t available often. The question for him is, how much is too much? And is the perceived risk worth the reward?