The 2019 season is perhaps the most important for the 49ers this decade. After 10 combined wins in two years, on top of a five-year playoff drought, expectations for the former perennial contender to get back to the postseason will only rise.
A slew of issues have held Kyle Shanahan’s club back since he arrived in 2017, but this year appears to be their best chance to compete for a postseason berth in his tenure. Here are four reasons why San Francisco will go from No. 2 overall pick to the playoffs in 2019:
They’re healthy
This could always change, of course, but San Francisco should go into the year healthier than they were at any point last season. A complete overhaul to their training and strength staffs should improve injury prevention and rehab. The losses of Jimmy Garoppolo and Jerick McKinnon were impactful, but players like Weston Richburg and Matt Breida playing hurt also adversely affected the 49ers. Getting their starting quarterback back under center, and ensuring all their players are healthy by Week 1 will put them in a much better position to compete.
Biggest weakness improved
Identifying and improving the roster’s biggest weaknesses hasn’t been a hallmark of general manager John Lynch’s tenure, but the 2019 offseason gave him an opportunity to attack the most glaring need – pass rush off the edge. The 49ers traded for Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Dee Ford, then drafted Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa. Those two players at their peak will help generate more consistent pass rush than the 49ers got all year last year. Affecting the opposing quarterback will instantly make San Francisco’s defense better.
Rookie impact
First-year players will be key to the 49ers’ success this season. Bosa will be called upon to be a game wrecker off the edge right away, and might wind up being one of the team’s leaders in defensive snaps. Second-round pick Deebo Samuel should get a starting job and plenty of targets early in his career. The 49ers don’t have a playmaker like him on the perimeter. That same thing applies to third-round pick Jalen Hurd – a Swiss Army knife who’ll fill several roles in Shanahan’s offense. Fourth-round punter Mitch Wishnowsky will be charged with helping flip field position in a way the 49ers haven’t been able to since Andy Lee exited, and fifth-round linebacker Dre Greenlaw might wind up being the starter early on if Kwon Alexander isn’t ready for Week 1. Tight end Kaden Smith and cornerback Tim Harris, both sixth-round choices, will also compete for snaps in their rookie seasons. If the 49ers’ 2019 draft class is a home run, it’s hard to imagine it wouldn’t elevate them to the postseason.
Turnover ascension to the mean
A lot of what happens with turnovers on a year-to-year basis has to do with luck. One glaring example was an interception CJ Beathard threw at the goal line against the Chargers. He bounced a throw off tight end Garrett Celek’s chest that floated into the air and was intercepted. That wasn’t a turnover-worthy play, but it turned into a giveaway. It stands to reason plays like that will fall the 49ers’ way in 2019. The same goes for the defense, which saw multiple blown interception chances by the San Francisco secondary. Added pressure off the edge from Ford and Bosa should also help generate takeaways from the 49ers’ defense, while a 16-game season from Garoppolo should help in the giveaway department. Another season with a minus-25 turnover differential is probably not happening, and trending the opposite direction should directly result in a few more wins.
