Imagine a scenario in which All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey rumbles forward for an award-winning season that helps propel the San Francisco 49ers deep into the playoffs.
If you're thinking about 2023 in which McCaffrey earned Offensive Player of the Year honors and helped the Niners reach the Super Bowl, you'd be correct.
And you'd also be correct if you combed through Sports Illustrated's Connor Orr's 100 bold predictions for the upcoming 2025 season.
Granted, Orr didn't predict San Francisco to win the Super Bowl (the Buffalo Bills claim that honor... but at least quarterback Josh Allen grew up a 49ers fan). But Orr is predicting anything but a regression of a season for the Niners despite the team losing plenty of well-established talent earlier this offseason.
In fact, Orr predicted San Francisco to win a whopping 12 games this season:
"The most generous schedule in football, coupled with the healthy return of Christian McCaffrey, will propel Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers back into the conversation atop the NFC West. It’s truly amazing what happens to a team not saddled with a historically egregious net rest differential, as San Francisco was in 2024."
Orr not only reminds fans how McCaffrey is poised to return fully healthy after various injuries limited him to just four games last season, but the SI analyst is also on point about the schedule quirks the 49ers haven't been able to enjoy in recent years.
But, wait... there's more.
Christian McCaffrey earns another award in SI's latest prediction
McCaffrey played a massive role in the Niners' Super Bowl run two seasons ago, and one could argue his absence for much of 2024 played just as big a role in San Francisco's disappointing 6-11 finish.
So, if the 49ers are good again, McCaffrey has to be good again, too, right?
Like, Comeback Player of the Year award-kind of good. And that's precisely what Orr predicted would happen, shedding light on what seems to be the Niners' faith in CMC's major-impact return:
"The 49ers had 11 picks in this year’s draft and did not even touch the offensive side of the ball until Round 4. While the 49ers did select a running back (Oregon’s Jordan James in the fifth round), the team’s lack of urgency surrounding the position—in addition to San Francisco trading Jordan Mason to the Vikings—signals that there have been some positive early returns on McCaffrey’s health."
It's reasonable. The soon-to-be 29 year old doesn't have a massive insurance policy behind him, which suggests San Francisco is all in on his healthy return to the field.
Should that go well, the 49ers offense could click just like it did two seasons ago.
In fact, it might click so well that another one of Orr's bold predictions comes true: backup quarterback Mac Jones torches the Carolina Panthers in prime time late in the season.
Yes, you read that right (even if it somehow means starting quarterback Brock Purdy is out for a late-season game).