Will the 49ers live up to the hype?

The San Francisco 49ers’ hype train is on full throttle after Jimmy Garoppolo went 5-0 in his five starts at the end of the 2017 season. Will the team live up to the hype this year?

From 2015 through 2017, the San Francisco 49ers roster were bad in almost every area/category imaginable.

As a result, they didn’t get a lot of love from the media.

Fast forward to March 2018. The 49ers are coming off the hottest end of a regular season the NFL has seen in a long while by bringing in Jimmy Garoppolo as the quarterback. The young team, mostly consisting of players brought in by the new regime, is brimming with potential.

San Francisco 49ers

All of a sudden, the Niners have turned into the ideal media outlet, with every sports network constantly covering the team. Dan Hanzus of NFL.com said the 49ers would be his pick to appear on this season of Hard Knocks, a TV show that follows an NFL team during training camp.

On March 20th, Elliot Harrison of NFL.com ranked San Francisco as the 13th best team in the league on his famous power rankings articles.

There have been plenty of articles in the past couple of months saying how the 49ers will be contenders in 2018.

The hype train is on full throttle for this up-and-coming team in the Bay Area.

But will this group live up to the hype?

I think so. Winning the last five games of the season has cost the team a higher draft pick position, but it established something much more important — a true winning culture.

By winning the last five games of the season, which included wins against several good playoff teams, the team now has this mentality that they can beat anybody, which is especially crucial for such a young team.

And if you take a look at the roster, the team is actually well rounded enough to make a championship run.

The offensive line has proven veterans in Joe Staley and Trent Brown manning the tackle positions, new free agent signing Weston Richburg who played very well in New York at center and a triplet of average first rounders in Joshua Garnett, Jonathan Cooper and Laken Tomlinson at the guard spots.

At wide receiver, there’s Pierre Garcon, probably the most reliable possession receiver in the league, Marquise Goodwin, an Olympian who proved last season that he’s more than just a deep threat and Trent Taylor, a shifty slot receiver who has reliable hands and incredible game speed.

The defensive line needs a de-facto pass-rusher, but is solid nonetheless with solid players such as DeForest Buckner, Arik Armstead, Earl Mitchell, Solomon Thomas and more depth players.

The linebackers are a strong group with Reuben Foster, the team’s 2017 first-round pick who’s troubling incident back in February still casts a shadow but has yet to deter the Niners brass, and Brock Coyle, who is a solid run-stopper.

The secondary is lethal with Richard Sherman, one of the league’s best cornerbacks, and Ahkello Witherspoon, a rising second-year cornerback who showed a ton of promise last season shutting down opposing No. 1 receivers.

There’s Jaquiski Tartt, who I think is one of the league’s most underrated safeties, Jimmie Ward, a former first-round pick, who hasn’t reached his full potential yet and Adrian Colbert, who may be the steal of the 2017 draft. Colbert was drafted in the seventh round last year and slid in at safety in the middle of the 2017 season, playing great coverage and hitting receivers hard while he was at it.

And, of course, I cannot forget about Garoppolo, who is emerging as one of the league’s best quarterbacks. Pair him with head coach Kyle Shanahan, one of the best offensive minds in football, and you have a match made in heaven.

Oh yeah, and the team has nine draft picks this year, including the No. 9 overall pick to snag a true impact player.

Next: 5 49ers with a lot on the line in 2018

So yeah, I think it’s safe to say that the 49ers will live up — or even exceed — the hype they are receiving right now.