After three straight trips to the NFC Championship game and giving the dynastic Kansas City Chiefs everything they could handle before taking a heartbreaking 25-22 overtime loss in Super Bowl 58, the San Francisco 49ers suffered through an injury-plagued 2024 campaign that saw them win just six games and miss out on the postseason altogether.
Now, it's no secret that San Francisco has once again had some injury setbacks leading into this 2025 campaign. That said, however, the majority of the team's most high-profile players will be on the field come Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks.
And as long as the core remains at least relatively healthy, the Niners should be able to put themselves back in contention in the NFC West, especially given some of the overall turnover that occurred within the division during the offseason.
To kick off our predictions, we're going to go ahead and get this out of the way: The San Francisco 49ers will win the NFC West in 2025. So, there's that for you.
And to get there, we're also seeing these three things play out over the course of the next few months.
Christian McCaffrey and Brian Robinson Jr. will combine to rack up at least 3,000 total yards from scrimmage
One of the biggest concerns Niners fans have heading into the season is the health of superstar running back Christian McCaffrey. And those concerns are understandable, as the three-time Pro Bowler has missed 37 of 84 regular-season games over the past five years with various ailments, including 13 a season ago.
McCaffrey is healthy heading into the regular season, which is obviously good news. But after losing Jordan Mason to the Minnesota Vikings during the offseason and watching several backs go down during training camp, San Francisco went out and added Brian Robinson Jr., who's been the lead back for the Washington Commanders for the last three seasons.
As such, McCaffrey won't have to carry as much of the load as he has in the past. Don't get it twisted, as he'll still be the guy, but the addition of Robinson allows CMC to get a little more rest. And the beauty is that, like McCaffrey, Robinson is a dual-threat kind of a player.
He may not be quite the receiver McCaffrey is, but that could be said for pretty much every back in the league. Nevertheless, what this means overall is that the offensive game plan won't have to change when Robinson enters the game.
Simply put, this duo is going to be the best backfield 1-2 punch in the NFL this season, and we're calling for McCaffrey and Robinson to put up a combined 3,000 total yards from scrimmage in 2025.
Ricky Pearsall will lead the 49ers in receiving yards in 2025
With Deebo Samuel now with the Washington Commanders and Brandon Aiyuk out of action for at least the first month of the regular season, Ricky Pearsall has no choice but to step up for San Francisco this season.
And we believe the second-year stud will do just that. In fact, we're calling for the soon-to-be 25-year-old to lead the 49ers in receiving yards this season.
Yes, Brock Purdy still has Jauan Jennings as an option. Perennial Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle will obviously get his touches as well, as will Aiyuk when he returns.
But Pearsall seems primed for a breakout campaign, and he certainly showed what he's capable of down the stretch last season, catching eight passes for 141 yards and a touchdown in a Week 17 loss to the Detroit Lions and following up with six catches for 69 yards and a score in Week 18 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Pearsall and Purdy looked fantastic together in training camp, and this chemistry will lead to a big season from Pearsall that will ultimately result in his first Pro Bowl selection.
Fred Warner will win Defensive Player of the Year
Over the past five years, 49ers linebacker Fred Warner has been one of best and most consistent defenders in the entire NFL, earning four trips to the Pro Bowl and four First-Team All-Pro selections.
Only once, however, has the 2018 third-round pick finished in the top 10 in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, his best-ever result being a sixth-place finish in 2023. But not only are we calling for Warner to finally get some first-place votes, which he never has, we're calling for him to win the award.
It's not often these days that a linebacker wins DPOY. In fact, over the last 11 seasons, only one has done so, that being the Pittsburgh Steelers' T.J. Watt in 2021. But he's obviously more of the edge-rushing type of linebacker, which Warner clearly is not.
So, if one were to go back and look at the last non-edge kind of a linebacker to win the award, that would be Carolina Panthers legend Luke Kuechly, who took the honor in 2013 after recording 156 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, seven passes defended, and four interceptions.
And those are the types of numbers we're expecting from Warner this year. A season ago, he tallied 131 total tackles, five tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, two interceptions, including a 45-yard pick-six, and a sack. So, if he can tack on just a little bit more, he's going to be right there in the mix.