The San Francisco 49ers finished last in the NFC West this past season with a 6-11 record, so they will be hoping they can be back to their winning ways this season.
But not everyone thinks that they will be able to do that.
In a recent article by CBS Sports' Jared Dubin, he makes some predictions for how the Niners' division will pan out this season. He talks about win projections, and he thinks the "best bet" for San Francisco is for them to have under 10.5 wins.
"The 49ers are in something of a transition season, with a ton of change on both sides of the ball and key pieces coming back from major injuries," Dubin wrote. "The star talent is still here. Bosa, McCaffrey, George Kittle, Fred Warner and coach Kyle Shanahan will have this team in contention for a playoff spot. It just feels like it's more of a 10-win team rather than the 12- or 13-win outfit that they ran out there in 2022 and 2023."
Before 2024, The 49ers had won the AFC West title each of the previous two seasons, so this past year was really an outlier for them.
There are, however, a decent amount of changes on both sides, as Dubin said. The most notable is the team trading away Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders earlier this offseason, which will change the offense dramatically.
With that being said, the team seems to have no doubt that one of their other wide receivers is going to step up in his place. If everyone can stay healthy, the Niners will be looking to prove this ranking wrong and get back to their regularly scheduled program.