What the experts are saying about the 49ers entering 2019

The San Francisco 49ers may not be receiving the same kind of buzz entering 2019 as they were a year ago. But a lot of experts around the league are bullish on the Niners.

Last year, the San Francisco 49ers were being viewed as a prime team to watch. After all, newly minted franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had just helped the team to a five-game win streak to close out 2018. And with that came some pretty lofty expectations for the year.

Garoppolo then suffered an ACL tear early in the season, followed by the Niners going 4-12 and seemingly having more question marks than answers heading into 2019.

That said, there are more than a handful of nationally known NFL analysts feeling pretty good about San Francisco this upcoming season.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah listed the 49ers as the No. 1 most improved team heading into 2019:

This is a sentiment echoed by ESPN radio’s Jon Clayton, who said much of the same on KNBR 680’s Murph and Mac Show (h/t 49ers Webzone), recently:

"The key for the 49ers, because, again, they’re one of the most improved defensive lines in football, their pass rush is going to improve dramatically — the question is going to be depth and where they are with injuries … If the team is going to be healthy, it should be able to get to eight or nine wins."

The Niners made some notable moves along their defensive line, trading for former Kansas City Chiefs EDGE Dee Ford, then using the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft on arguably college football’s top prospect, Ohio State EDGE Nick Bosa.

Along with defensive tackles Arik Armstead, Solomon Thomas and the 2018 Pro Bowler, DeForest Buckner, San Francisco now boasts five players previously selected in Round 1.

Last year, the 49ers finished with the league’s fifth most points allowed (435) despite giving up the 13th fewest yards on the season. The hope will be for this cast of front defenders to drastically change that ranking, also increasing what was a woeful turnover ratio in 2018.

That said, a majority of the focus will be on Garoppolo.

Yet fellow NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger had good feelings about Jimmy G, when he pointed out his thoughts on San Francisco during an appearance on 95.7 The Game:

"This is the best team that has been around Jimmy Garoppolo in San Francisco. I mean, they’ve got depth; they’ve built their offensive and defensive lines; they’ve got talent in the backfield; they’ve got an [Pro Bowl] tight end. There’s plenty to work with. Plenty.I don’t see any glaring weaknesses on this team. I mean, they’ve been just butchered by injuries the last two years, but that’s meant a lot of other guys have played. So you’re not looking at a great deal of inexperience anywhere on the roster."

NBC Sports’ Peter King also felt similarly.

That said, not everyone is on board with San Francisco’s improvements and overall roster heading into 2019.

NFL.com’s Ali Bhanpuri broke down the “triplets” — quarterback, running back and a pass catcher — before the season’s start, and the Niners finished a woeful 27th.

Pro Football Focus also looks at the 49ers run defense as the worst in the league — an interesting ranking, considering the Niners allowed just 4.1 yards per carry last season, which ranked seventh best. Bosa, while known for his pass rush, was also a good collegiate run stopper, and San Francisco attempted to solidify its linebacker corps by signing Kwon Alexander.

Both Alexander and fellow linebacker Fred Warner do have some tackling concerns, yes. And the Niners switch to a wide-9 defensive alignment could open up more interior rush opportunities for opponents.

Keep an eye on how well the 49ers do here.

Either way, the majority of analysts out there seem to be feeling pretty good about the red and gold this season. So, perhaps, it shouldn’t matter there isn’t quite the hype entering 2019 as there was a year ago.