ClutchPoints
Ed McCaffrey is still a big believer in the San Francisco 49ers.
The former Pro Bowl wide receiver won a Super Bowl with the 49ers during the 1994 season and his son, Christian McCaffrey, is currently one of their biggest stars. However, the Niners went through a rough season last year, struggling to a 6-11 record. Injuries decimated the roster, with McCaffrey limited to just four games and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk missing the majority of the year due to a season-ending ACL and MCL injury.
With that being said, this is still a team just two years removed from a Super Bowl appearance. Furthermore, they’re still loaded despite the departure of former Pro Bowl receiver Deebo Samuel.
“I think people forget so quickly, and I get it, if you lose some games, you know that teams on the back burner,” says McCaffrey. “But you gotta remember, this team was in the Super Bowl a couple years ago and in the NFC Championship a year before that, and they’re about to sign their quarterback (Brock Purdy) to a $50-to-$60 million a year deal. You need your quarterback, they’re about ready to lock him up.”
Brock Purdy faced a lot of flak last season for his inability to get the Niners over the hump amid all their injuries. His play took a step back a year after finishing as a top-five MVP candidate and after leading San Francisco to a Super Bowl appearance. With that being said, he still ranked in the top five in yards per completion and passing yards per game.
McCaffrey also mentions how the 49ers were missing several of their key defensive starters — who have since departed — in Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga. That’s in addition to franchise left tackle Trent Williams missing seven games. The Niners also signed George Kittle to a four-year contract extension through 2029.
“They just signed George Kittle, one of the best tight ends of all time, Trent Williams is coming back at left tackle,” says McCaffrey. “We forget they lost Brandon Aiyuk for almost the whole season. That’s their starting wide receiver outside the numbers. Christian missed most of the year. So they had like four All-Pro, Pro Bowl, Hall of Fame-caliber guys out.”
The 49ers were the most injured team in the NFL last season. A healthier San Francisco squad combined with new reinforcements on defense through the draft — their top five picks were defensive players — should result in the Niners returning back to contention.
“They were missing so many guys, you have to throw last year out the window,” says McCaffrey. “Thought they had a good draft, a lot of defensive guys that they needed. Needed to draft some defensive linemen and linebackers. They added to the defense, added to the offense a little bit later, but they have a lot of great players coming back.”
McCaffrey goes so far as to say that the 49ers are the favorites in the NFC West. This really...
