The San Francisco 49ers were active this offseason, adding a lot of talent to their roster, improving a few key areas through free agency, the NFL Draft, and trades.
Their most noteworthy move is the free-agent signing of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans. It’s a fun pickup for the 49ers and is one of the better moves of the offseason.
However, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell did not call this Evans signing the best move of the offseason for the 49ers. Instead, he identified a trade with the Dallas Cowboys for a star defender as their best move.
49ers best move wasn’t Mike Evans signing, but rather a Cowboys trade
“Best: Trading a third-round pick for Osa Odighizuwa,” Barnwell writes. “The 49ers will pay Odighizuwa $37.3 million over the next two years, which is quite affordable given that the top of the defensive tackle market is already north of $30 million per season.”
The 49ers went out and sent a third-round pick to the Cowboys for Osa Odighizuwa earlier this offseason. It was an interesting move at the time, but is it better than the Evans signing?
Considering how expensive good interior defensive linemen are right now, being able to get someone like Odighizuwa under contract for a few seasons on a reasonable price tag at the cost of a third-round pick is well worth it.
The 27-year-old defensive tackle has 17 sacks in his NFL career, with no season reaching more than 4.5 sacks. But, as an interior lineman, his value won’t be measured solely in sacks.
He’s a force multiplier who should be a big help for the edge rushers in 2026, a group that struggled mightily in 2025. The 49ers finished the season with fewer sacks (20) than Myles Garrett (23) had on his own. They needed pass-rush help.
Add in that Evans is coming off an injury-shortened 2025 season, and might be regressing, and the 49ers’ addition of a fairly young defensive tackle with pass rush upside at a cheap cost for only a third-round pick is more than deserving of being called the best move of the offseason.
