lt's no secret that the San Francisco 49ers will look a lot different in 2025 than they have the last few years, as the team parted ways with several high-profile players during the offseason, a list that includes offensive guard Aaron Banks, linebacker Leonard Floyd, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, safety Talanoa Hufanga, wideout Deebo Samuel, and cornerback Charvarius Ward, among others.
And while president of football operations/general manager John Lynch added some new faces in free agency, none could really be considered big-time signings, as the most notable names were backup quarterback Mac Jones and backup tight end Luke Farrell.
Nevertheless, the Niners still have plenty of big names on the roster heading into the 2025 season in quarterback Brock Purdy, offensive tackle Trent Williams, running back Christian McCaffrey, wideout Brandon Aiyuk, tight end George Kittle, defensive end Nick Bosa, and linebacker Fred Warner.
As such, when putting together their rankings of the best starting lineups for the upcoming season, ESPN included San Francisco at No. 10 overall.
ESPN lists the 49ers' biggest strength, weakness, and X-factor heading into the 2025 season
In each of the 32 assessments, the trio of Mike Clay, Aaron Schatz, and Seth Walder opined on every team's biggest strength, weakness, and X-factor, also breaking down a non-starter to know heading into the new campaign.
The 49ers' biggest strength, according to Clay, is the tight end position, and he mentions how Kittle ranked among the top five at the position in receiving yardage and touchdowns despite missing three games, while also earning PFF's top grade at tight end as a blocker.
He also mentioned the additions of Luke Farrell and Ross Dwelley. Farrell was also named by Schatz as the non-starter to know, noting his skills as a blocker and saying that he believes San Francisco will use two tight ends simultaneously a lot more than they did a season ago.
As far as biggest weakness is concerned, Klay went with defensive tackle, even going so far as to say that the "49ers' DT situation might be the worst in the league."
He noted the departures of Hargrave and Maliek Collins, which will undoubtedly hurt, while also mentioning how the top guy on the depth chart is Jordan Elliott, who is stronger as a rotational player, not a No. 1 option.
The 49ers did address the issue in the draft, selecting Alfred Collins in the second round and CJ West in the fourth round, but Clay notes how Kevin Givens, Evan Anderson, and Kalia Davis each took less than 30 percent of San Francisco's defensive snaps in 2024.
As for the Niners' X-factor, Walder went with an obvious choice, that being the health of McCaffrey and Aiyuk, who missed a combined 23 games a season ago. He says that if both are healthy, "we will again be in awe of the plethora of playmakers in San Francisco."
If they're not, however, Walder says second-year wideout Ricky Pearsall will need to step up, which the team is obviously hoping he'll do anyway. He says Kittle will obviously need to do what Kittle does, and then makes brief mention of Jauan Jennings, saying he'll need to maintain the level of play we saw from him last year.
Of course, he did have to add "if he's still on the team" to that sentence, given Jennings' recent demands for a new contract or a trade.