The 49ers had a prolific offense in 2019, and there are reasons to believe it’ll be better in 2019. Some bold predictions, shall we?
About the only surefire prediction fans could have made about the San Francisco 49ers entering 2019 was tight end George Kittle having yet another monstrous season.
While he didn’t break his own single-season receiving yards record by a tight end set back in 2018, Kittle’s 1,053 receiving yards over 14 games last year was nonetheless impressive.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo also bounced back from his horrific 2018 ACL tear and ended up passing for a total of 3,978 yards, which puts him fourth on the franchise’s all-time single-season passing record list along with legendary names like Steve Young, Joe Montana and Jeff Garcia. While Garoppolo’s fourth-quarter meltdown in the Super Bowl is often what’s discussed when talking about Jimmy G’s efforts last season, it’s important to note he put together quite the year regardless.
True, the Niners are going to have obstacles this season, particularly on offense. The team lost veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to free agency, while also losing stalwart left tackle Joe Staley to retirement.
Getting perennial Pro Bowl tackle Trent Williams and promising rookie wideout Brandon Aiyuk in return, however, make for excellent consolation prizes.
With all these factors in place, how is head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad going to improve upon what ended up being the No. 2 overall scoring offense in the NFL last season? More importantly, what are some bold predictions for this unit over the course of 2020 and (hopefully) into the playoffs?
Niner Noise explores five hopeful outcomes for Shanahan and Co. heading into the upcoming season.