Niner Noise
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San Francisco 49ers: Full Predictions for the 2016 NFL Season

By Peter Panacy

Oct 18, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde (28) rushes for a gain against the Baltimore Ravens during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 18, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde (28) rushes for a gain against the Baltimore Ravens during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jun 8, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly smiles during minicamp at the San Francisco 49ers Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 8, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly smiles during minicamp at the San Francisco 49ers Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Predicting 49ers 2016 Offensive Output

If there’s one thing about a Chip Kelly-led offense, it’s the notion the head coach will be able to score a lot of points, gain a lot of yards and do its best to keep opposing defenses on their heels.

That’s what was seen when Kelly was at the University of Oregon. And it’s what was on display for two of Kelly’s three seasons with the Eagles.

Let’s take a look at Football Outsiders‘ offensive DVOA rankings from 2013 through 2015:

  • 2013 — plus-22.9 percent, No. 3 in NFL
  • 2014 — plus-1.1 perecent, No. 13 in NFL
  • 2015 –minus-10.1 percent, No. 26 in NFL

Did the rest of the league adjust to Kelly’s offense? Perhaps. And it’s probably a good thing Kelly won’t have roster control in San Francisco like he did with Philadelphia last season.

Still, the 49ers will be much better on this side of the ball than they were a year ago. The Niners’ 2015 offense was vanilla, plain and boring. As a result, San Francisco finished with the league’s worst offense at just 238 points scored.

Yards gained, first downs, third-down conversion rates and red-zone efficiency weren’t much better.

Niner Noise’s Nicholas McGee predicted the Niners would score more than 350 points in 2016, which would put the team right around the middle of the NFL pack in this category, based on last year’s results. So let’s go with that number as our prediction here.

The 49ers won’t be a top-10 offense. They won’t come close. But anything is a step up from what was seen last year.

Next: Predicting the Defensive Efficiency