Over the last few years, the San Francisco 49ers have been one of the best and most talented teams in the NFL, and it’s therefore not exactly a surprise they have reached the NFC Championship Game three times and the Super Bowl once in the last four seasons.
The concept of them becoming even better is scary for the rest of the league.
San Francisco already had the league’s best defense last season, and with the addition of stud defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, they could become even more vicious on that side of the football.
Offensively, they haven’t been thought of as elite, but David Lombardi of The Athletic says that during OTAs, they’ve been focusing on playing a little more open.
49ers focused on pushing the ball downfield at today's OTA. Brandon Aiyuk caught 2 long TDs, one from Sam Darnold and one from Trey Lance
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) May 31, 2023
If the Niners decide to stretch the field vertically more often next season, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk figures to be a big part of that strategy.
After he was solid in his first two pro seasons, he surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in 2022 while scoring eight touchdowns.
One man who will need to step up is Deebo Samuel, who had 1,405 receiving yards in 2021 while being named to both the Pro Bowl and All-Pro first-team, but fell to just 632 receiving yards last season.
Early last season, the Niners offense looked anemic, but October’s trade for dual-threat running back Christian McCaffrey changed everything, and for the rest of the season, they ranked pretty high in some key offensive categories.
Once they figure out whether Brock Purdy, Trey Lance, or even Sam Darnold will be their permanent starting quarterback, the sky could be the limit for them.
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