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San Francisco 49ers 2025 NFL Season Preview

[Editor's note: This article is from Athlon Sports' 2025 NFL Preview Magazine.Order your copy today online or pick one up at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.]

The sound you hear might be the 49ers’ Super Bowl window slamming shut.

After an unexpectedly awful 6-11 season in 2024, the 49ers endured a painful cost-cutting offseason in which they parted with eight starters. The exodus included four players who have earned Pro Bowl honors and the heartbeat of the defense in linebacker Dre Greenlaw.

Meanwhile, the 49ers didn’t counter the loss of talent with major additions. Their biggest free-agent signing was Jaguars backup tight end Luke Farrell.

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AFC East: Bills | Dolphins | Jets | Patriots

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AFC South:Colts | Jaguars | Texans | Titans

AFC West: Broncos | Chargers | Chiefs | Raiders

NFC East:Commanders | Cowboys | Eagles | Giants

NFC North: Bears | Lions | Packers | Vikings

NFC South: Buccaneers | Falcons | Panthers | Saints

NFC West: 49ers | Cardinals | Rams | Seahawks

Still, the 49ers probably patched some of their many roster holes with 11 draft picks, matching their most they’ve had since 2016. And the 2023 NFC champions still have Pro Bowl quarterback Brock Purdy, seven All-Pro players and an inviting last-place schedule that includes only four games against 2024 playoff teams.

“While we’ve seen a lot of great players leave, and that’s hard to watch, we still have a lot of Hall of Fame-worthy players,” general manager John Lynch says. “There are some guys who will be staring that in the face when they’re done. There’s a lot of them on this roster. There’s a tremendous core that we can go be competitive with while adding some young players.”

Offense

This unit emerged largely unscathed from the offseason roster carnage. The 49ers are returning nine starters from a group that ranked fourth in the NFL in yards and tied for 13th in points per game last season despite injuries that sidelined three All-Pros — left tackle Trent Williams, running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk — for 30 combined games.

Brock Purdy 49ers

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.

Those injuries help explain Purdy’s statistical regression. He ranked 13th in the NFL in passer rating after posting the 13th-highest passer rating in league history in 2023. But head coach Kyle Shanahan has said that he wants Purdy to be his quarterback as long as he’s employed by the 49ers, and there’s a belief that better overall health will lead to improved results in 2025.

About that improved health: It’s not a guarantee, given Purdy’s accomplished-but-aging supporting cast. It includes Williams, who is entering his age-37 season and has missed multiple games with injuries for the past nine seasons. And McCaffrey, who has missed 24 games over the past four seasons and ranks fifth among active players in career touches (1,871). And tight end George Kittle, who will turn 32 in October, and Aiyuk, who isn’t expected to be ready for the start of the regular season after undergoing knee surgery in November.

Without Aiyuk, the 49ers still have Jauan Jennings, their most productive wide receiver in 2024, and Ricky Pearsall, last year’s first-round pick who showed promising flashes near the end of his adversity-filled rookie season. However, there are potential depth issues at other positions.

In March, the 49ers traded their 2024 leading rusher, Jordan Mason, to the Vikings, which leaves Isaac Guerendo and fifth-round pick Jordan James as McCaffrey’s top backups. Guerendo averaged five yards per carry as a rookie last year, but he was limited to 84 attempts due to multiple injuries after compiling an extensive medical file in college.

The 49ers return four starting offensive linemen, headlined by Williams and right guard Dominick Puni, who was stellar in his rookie season. But their decision to use just one of their 11 draft picks on this position group, selecting guard Connor Colby in the seventh round, was a surprise, given their apparent needs.

They have an opening at left guard after Aaron Banks signed with the Packers, and the leading candidates are journeymen Ben Bartch and Matt Hennessy. In addition, their top backup tackle, Jaylon Moore, signed with the Chiefs. The line is a significant issue, especially given Williams’ age and injury history.

Defense

Welcome back, Robert Saleh. Now get to work. This isn’t 2017, when Saleh began his four-season 49ers’ tenure as a rookie coordinator who inherited the NFL’s 32nd-ranked defense. But Saleh is taking over a once-proud unit that declined last year before it got worse in the offseason with the departure of six starters.

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner

Fred Warner

Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports

The 49ers allowed the fourth-most points in the NFL in 2024, and their run defense turned to mush: They allowed five 100-yard rushers in their final seven games after they hadn’t allowed an opponent to hit the century mark in their previous 55 games.

The good news: They still have two of the NFL’s best players at their respective positions, pass-rusher Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner, along with ascendant cornerback Deommodore Lenoir. Their draft, which began with the selection of five straight defensive players for the first time since 1981, should fill some holes, although it’s risky to count on so many rookies.

The 49ers released three high-priced starting defensive linemen in March, but they hope that they selected their replacements: defensive end Mykel Williams (first round), along with defensive tackles Alfred Collins (second) and C.J. West (fourth). They are also pinning their hopes on another rookie, third-round linebacker Nick Martin, to replace Greenlaw. Martin will compete with 2023 sixth-round pick Dee Winters for the opening, but Winters’ inconsistencies led to their selection of Martin.

In the secondary, they want another draft pick, third-rounder Upton Stout, to become their slot corner. If Stout can assume the role, it would allow Lenoir to remain outside after rotating between both positions last year. Lenoir and Renardo Green could become one of the NFL’s best young tandems. Last year, Green, a second-round pick, set the franchise rookie record with 13 pass breakups.

Green’s emergence made the free-agent departure of All-Pro corner Charvarius Ward less painful. But the loss of All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga could sting, given the situation at that position. Malik Mustapha, last year’s fourth-round find, had offseason knee surgery and won’t be ready for Week 1. Without Mustapha, both starting spots are up for grabs. The candidates include Ji’Ayir Brown, Jason Pinnock and Marques Sigle, a rookie fifth-round pick. That’s a theme for the 49ers’ defense. And it could be a problem.

Specialists

Steady punter Mitch Wishnowsky will return for a seventh season, but it’s not clear if kicker Jake Moody will make it to the regular season.

The 2023 third-round pick became NFL’s the highest-drafted kicker in seven years, but his job is already in jeopardy after he ranked 32nd in field-goal percentage (70.6) last season. Shanahan has said the 49ers will bring in a veteran to compete with Moody, who returned from a high ankle sprain in November and finished by making 11-of-20 attempts, including 5-of-14 from 40-plus yards.

The 49ers traded one of the NFL’s best kickoff returners in Deebo Samuel, who averaged 31.4 yards on 17 runbacks in 2024. And they want to upgrade their punt returns after wideout Jacob Cowing handled those duties in ’24. They used a seventh-round pick on Montana wide receiver Junior Bergen, who tied an FCS record with eight career punt-return touchdowns and also had a kickoff-return touchdown.

Final Analysis

The days of penciling the 49ers into the postseason appear to be over. But if their collection of standouts can stay relatively healthy and they receive strong contributions from their rookie class, watch out. Their strength of schedule, based on last year’s records, is the lowest in the NFL (.415).