The ESSENTIAL Football Show 2025 Cap Space: $42.1 million
2026 Cap Space: $55.0 million
2027 Cap Space: $86.3 million
2026 Draft Picks: Own Picks, Rounds 1-6, 4th Rd Comp Picks (2x), 5th Rd Comp Pick, MIN 6th Rd
San Francisco is going to feature a lot of new names on a once-familiar team, and it may be another year before they fully see the benefits of this pivot, but I think it would be unwise to bet too heavily against general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shannahan getting this turned around, given the track record they’ve established and the quarterback they have in place. There’s a lot of unknowns here, but there are enough established players and blue-chip talents for an immediate turnaround.
Quarterback
Starter: Brock Purdy
Backups: Mac Jones, Kurtis Rourke (7th Rd)
Running Back
Starters: Christian McCaffrey
Backups: Isaac Guerendo, Jordan James (5th Rd), Patrick Taylor
Wide Receiver
Starters: Brandon Aiyuk (IR), Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings
Backups: Jacob Cowing, Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Watkins (4th Rd)
Tight End
Starters: George Kittle
Backups: Luke Farrell, Ross Dwelley, Brayden Willis
Offensive Line
Starters: Trent Williams, Ben Bartch, Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni, Colton McKivitz
Backups: D.J. Humphries, Nick Zakelj, Matt Hennessy, Connor Colby (7th Rd), Spencer Burford
Offense Breakdown
There’s the short-term and the long-term outlook, with the former hinging very much on the health of running back Christian McCaffrey and left tackle Trent Williams. The reality is that these two players may never wind up playing on a roster accounting for Brock Purdy’s new contract, but that doesn’t mean that the two can’t recapture their All-Pro standard for 2025.
If those two are healthy, the 49ers could rebound to something close to their top-of-the-league 2023 form. There was a lot going wrong last season, but Brock Purdy’s play wasn’t one of them; Purdy continues to improve heading into his fourth NFL season, and while his lack of elite traits puts a ceiling on where he’ll go, he’s shown he can spin it more than well enough to operate a top-end NFL offense with the right pieces around him.
As to those pieces, there should be an upgrade in juice this season; Ricky Pearsall showed off his potential as an explosive playmaker down the stretch last year, and his fellow 2024 draftee, former 4th rounder Jacob Cowing, is an under-the-radar name to keep an eye on. His size works against him - Cowing is listed at 5’8, 171 - but he brings juice as a route-runner, and my sense in watching his opportunities down the stretch was that he played with competitive toughness for his size.
There are also the more established names; hopefully, George Kittle can repeat his outstanding 2024, though the tight end has struggled to stack healthy seasons over his career, while Brandon Aiyuk will return from his season-ending ACL tear. The 49ers also bring back Jauan Jennings, who showed he can play a significant role as a short-area and middle-of-the-field target, even if he doesn’t bring the kind of explosiveness the rest of the receivers (or Kittle, for that matter) provide. San Francisco also signed veteran Demarcus Robinson, who could contribute in a complementary role.
The offensive line is a typical Kyle Shannahan special, with Williams at left tackle and a less heralded group to his right. Right guard Dominick Puni, who jumped off the screen from his first game as a rookie, brings good size and mobility to the position; it’s easy to see how Puni could develop into one of the better guards in the league, though I thought a lack of consistency prevented me from grading him out too high as the season wore on. Beyond that pair, it’s a “good enough” mentality, with journeyman guard Ben Bartch, a free-agent addition, slated to get the first crack at the left guard spot, and center Jake Brendel and right tackle Colton McKivitz. They aren’t the most dominant players, but they have been part of some outstanding offenses, and if the parts are right around them, Shannahan has shown he can make it all work. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk is back after a brief flirtation with free agency, and in-line tight end Luke Farrell was signed to a deal that indicates the 49ers think he will be a notable boost over Ross Dwelley and Brayden Willis in that second tight end role.
Defensive Tackle
Starters: Jordan Elliott, Kevin Givens
Backups: Alfred Collins (2nd Rd), CJ West (4th Rd)
Edge
Starters: Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams (1st Rd)
Backups: Sam Okuayinonu, Yetur Gross-Matos
Linebackers
Starters: Fred Warner, Dee Winters
Backups: Nick Martin (3rd Rd), Tatum Bethune, Jalen Graham, Luke Gifford
Safety
Starters: Ji’Ayik Brown, Jason Pinnock
Backups: Richie Grant, George Odum, Marques Sigle (5th Rd), Malik Mustapha (ACL)
Slot
Starter: Deommodore Lenoir
Backups: Upton Stout (3rd Rd)
Outside CB
Starters: Renardo Green, Tre Brown
Backups: Darrell Luter, Tre Avery, Siran Neal
Defense Breakdown
The 49ers really lost more names than players in free agency, at least relative to the 2023 season, because whatever they have done in the past, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, and safety Talanoa Hufanga had significant availability issues between them.
It was a down season for the San Francisco defense, but there were some bright spots; Renardo Green, their second-round pick in 2024, didn’t scream “future All-Pro”, but I thought he profiled as a solid starting outside cornerback, and there’s potential for him to step forward in 2025. The 49ers appeared to have a second hit with hard-hitting Malik Mustapha, their fourth-round pick, but a late season torn ACL makes that situation less certain; in the best-case scenario, 2023 third-rounder Ji’Ayir Brown, who had some nice flashes late in his rookie season, takes the step forward folks were hoping to see in 2024, establishing himself at one safety spot while veterans Jason Pinnock and Richie Grant hold down the other spot until Mustapha recovers. There is a clear potential hole in San Francisco’s defense at the outside cornerback spot opposite Green, but Demmodore Lenoir, who signed a lucrative contract extension last season, can handle himself on the outside and will likely handle that role in their base package. In an ideal world, Upton Stout, a 2025 third-rounder who seems unlikely to play outside corner due to his size (5’8, 181), would win the slot job and allow Lenoir to play outside full-time, because it would be a wildly unexpected development if any of San Francisco’s journeymen additions, who include Tre Brown, Siran Neal, and Tre Avery, are suddenly going to emerge as playmakers at the position after profiling as backups throughout their careers.
The front is still led by defensive end Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner; it got lost in the shuffle of the disappointing season, but Bosa, who will turn 28 this season, arguably put up some of the best tape of his career last year, flat-out dominating even as the contributions around him dried up.
The hope is that the addition of edge Mykel Williams (1st Rd) and defensive tackles Alfred Collins (2nd Rd) and C.J. West (4th Rd), along with the return of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, can change all of that. San Francisco, once known for their both the depth and talent of their front, had a few too many injuries pile up, but defensive line coach Kris Koucerk is one of the most respected names in the business, so it wouldn’t be any great surprise to see a huge rebound this season. The floor isn’t on the trio of rookies - edge Sam Okuayinonu can contribute in a pass-rush rotation, and defensive tackles Kevin Givens and Jordan Elliott have logged a lot of decent snaps on the interior - but if the pass rush is going to be more than Bosa in 2025, the draft class is going to need to be part of the equation.
The 49ers rounded out their defensive additions by adding Nick Martin in the 3rd round, and while the 5’11, 220 pounder might not bring spectacular size to the table, all reports are that he can run, and that’s always been a trademark of these San Francisco linebackers. After watching Saleh carry the theme to New York, and another defensive coordinator turned head coach (DeMeco Ryans) continuing to acquire players who can run, even if it means sacrificing some size, it’s no surprise to see them add Martin to the mix. They don’t need him to start - I thought Dee Winters showed some improvement as he gained experience in 2024 - but it’s nice to have some competition to see if they can get back close to the level they had when Warner was operating next to a full-strength Dre Greenlaw.
Overall Outlook
This transition started a year ago, when the 49ers spent 1st and 4th-round draft picks on receivers despite the presence of Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk on the roster, and while that rookie class’s production was complicated by the gunshot wound suffered by Ricky Pearsall, the early returns are pretty darn incredible for a team that was drafting at the bottom of the first round.
As it stands, I would point to Pearsall, Renardo Green, and Dominick Puni as solid starters, and were it not for the torn ACL, Malik Mustapha would get the same designation. If Mustapha comes back healthy, that would be four starters in the first four rounds, two of them (Pearsall and Puni) with traits that give them clear “impact” upside. Throw in Jacob Cowing and running back Isaac Guerendo, who were selected with the other two of San Francisco’s three fourth-round picks, and you’ve added seven quality pieces to your roster with seven picks.
That’s the sort of haul that can reinvigorate a franchise, and if all goes well, the 49ers will have added a similar injection of youth to this year’s squad with the six picks they made in the first four rounds. A lack of picks after the Trey Lance and Christian McCaffrey trades led to the rookie contract pool drying up for the 49ers, but they’re going at that full tilt again; I’d argue it would be more of a surprise if things continue to go south, and Lynch and Shannahan don’t get this team back on track and in the thick of playoff contention for 2025 and beyond.