The 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan put together one of the NFL’s most productive offenses last season.
Even while the passing numbers didn’t live up to the inflated standard of the modern era, they scored the second-most points in the league and landed among the NFL’s best in most advanced and standard metrics.
Still, there are areas where the team can get better on that side of the ball. Here are four ways the 49ers’ offense can get better next season:
WR depth
The 49ers wound up leaning almost exclusively on the trio of Emmanuel Sanders, Deebo Samuel and Kendrick Bourne down the stretch last season. They need to find more playmakers to rely on on the outside. Sanders left in free agency, and it’s unclear how much larger of a role Bourne can take on and still be effective. San Francisco drafted Brandon Aiyuk in the first round, and will get Trent Taylor and Jalen Hurd back after they spent last season on Injured Reserve. Free agent signee Travis Benjamin will make a run at a roster spot, and Dante Pettis has the potential to make an impact if he can climb out of the hole he dug himself into last season. The 49ers have pieces to get better at receiver. Whether that actually turns into on-field production could be the difference between another deep playoff run and an early offseason.
Red-zone touchdowns
The 49ers averaged 29.9 points per game last season while checking in at just 53.2 percent on their red-zone conversion rate. That was good for 21st in the NFL, and 11th out of the 12 playoff teams. The silver lining is San Francisco had 62 trips to the red zone last season – second-most in the league behind the Ravens. If they can get up to 60 percent in the red zone, the 49ers should put up points in bunches next season.
Pass blocking
A dominant run game helped take some of the attention off the 49ers’ offensive line’s struggles in the passing game. They weren’t necessarily bad in that area, and some of the 36 sacks Jimmy Garoppolo took were on him. However, Pro Football Focus had the 49ers ranked 19th in pass blocking last season, and 10th among teams that made the postseason. Getting improved pass protection from the offensive front could be a crucial element of Garoppolo and the offense’s improvement in 2020.
Turnovers
A dominant defense and 13 wins helped overshadow some of the 49ers’ turnover problems on offense. They gave away 23 possessions last year, good for 19th in the league. Their 12 percent turnover rate tied with the Texans for the worst among playoff teams. Most of the onus on cutting down turnovers falls on the quarterback. Garoppolo was responsible for 18 of the team’s 23 giveaways, including 13 interceptions and five lost fumbles. Better weapons and improved pass blocking should help him some in these areas, but ball security is going to be important for Garoppolo to build on his good 2019 season.
