Niners Nation
While this might be a time to go full homer, let’s try and be objective for a moment
It’s not that we want to hear people talk about the San Francisco 49ers; it’s hearing them talk about how awesome the 49ers are.
So, of course, how awesome are they? Better, do you think they are overrated or underrated?
I found myself at Bleacher Report, where Moe Moton discusses over-/underhyped teams, and the 49ers were part of the list.
The 49ers made a “2” on Moton’s buzz meter, meaning they are pretty underrated.
For now, McCaffrey and Williams are healthy. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s return to San Francisco has flown under the radar. He established himself as a quality play-caller, particularly in his last two years with the 49ers before taking the New York Jets’ head coaching job.
With a moderate improvement on the defensive side of the ball under Saleh and a mostly healthy offensive cast, the 49ers should be back in Super Bowl contention.
San Francisco may have to preserve McCaffrey and Williams during the regular season and wideout Brandon Aiyuk is recovering from a torn ACL and MCL, so its over-under 10.5 win total makes sense.
In case you’re curious, the Los Angeles Rams got a “1” on the buzz meter, making them super underrated. Because, Los Angeles. Oh, and they play the 49ers hard every time.
Ok, back to the 49ers. I don’t think the 2025 team is either over- or underrated; when you average the polar opposite takes of “17-0” with “WE SUCK AGAIN,” it seems 50/50. I don’t have hard research to verify this, just the feeling you get when you're poking around the interwebs.
If mass media is any indication, there’s a lot of praise for what the 49ers had to do in the offseason. This will not be a juggernaut of a team in 2025 that steamrolls everyone. It also won’t be a six-win team (and if it is, that’s definitely not good). This is a team that has elite veteran leadership while rebuilding. Something they didn’t have in Kyle Shanahan’s first roster turnover in 2017. Yes, they had veterans, but aside from Kyle Juszczyk, there wasn’t much of an existing team culture besides people who had played in the league at a high level.
This is a season where patience is needed, because we’re going to see the younger players make a lot of bonehead mistakes, but it will pay off. In 2026, if all goes well, they’ll be really, really good. With the “easy” schedule in mind (on paper), the 49ers should make a playoff appearance, maybe even a surprise win. I doubt there’s much noise beyond that, but I’m being realistic.
