Are the 49ers Still Contenders in the NFC?
Since the start of the John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan regime in San Francisco, the 49ers have been looked at as one of the top Super Bowl contenders in the NFL. The team has reached the NFC Championship game in four of the last six seasons. In 2019 and 2023, they played in the Super Bowl while reaching the NFC Championship in 2021 and 2022. All four of the seasons ended in heartbreak in some way. However, the continuity within the team never wavered throughout those five years. Even with a change at the quarterback position from Jimmy Garoppolo in the regime’s first Super Bowl to Brock Purdy in the regime’s return to the big game, the foundation of the team remained consistent.
After the team’s Super Bowl LVIII loss, it seemed the continuity would be tested for the final time during the next season as contract talks began to pile up for star players. In 2024, their last gasp of Super Bowl contention with the same group fell short as they finished the season with a 6-11 record. The season was piled with drama and injuries from Brandon Aiyuk’s contract situation and knee injury to Christian McCaffrey’s Bilateral Achilles tendinitis. The 2024 campaign for the 49ers created questions when it came to their future roster construction, especially looking at the defensive unit’s decline in production.
This offseason saw many former 49ers standouts like Dre Greenlaw, Deebo Samuel, and Talanoa Hufanga leave for new destinations in free agency. These moves show a needed retooling of the team’s young core. Last season, the 49ers relied on veteran presence scattered within the roster to sustain NFC contention. Over the next few seasons, the approach will have to be the opposite. After the completion of the 2025 NFL Draft, San Francisco is following that exact path. Draft selections like Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins, and Nick Martin will help rejuvenate their run defense with Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh leading the charge.
The upcoming 2025 season will determine whether extending players like Purdy was the correct decision. As we look into the future at the 49ers’ season schedule, they have the easiest strength of schedule in the entire league. This outcome should create incredible optimism for the potential this roster can reach. There is no reason the team should perform as poorly as last season, but there is no guarantee of how improved the NFC is. When looking at the NFC West, San Francisco went 1-5 against divisional opponents last season. Despite that, the 49ers could potentially be a team that bounces back, claims the top of the division, and returns to the familiar sight of a deep playoff run once again.
