As the Seattle Seahawks look to make another playoff run in the 2020 season, they face stiff competition in what could be the NFL’s toughest division next year. In the third entry of this three-part series, we review the reigning NFC Champions – the San Francisco 49ers.
San Francisco 49ers
2019 record: 13-3, 5-1 NFC West
Against Seattle: 1-1
2019 postseason: Made Super Bowl LIV (lost 20-31 to the Kansas City Chiefs)
Key additions: WR Travis Benjamin, OT Trent Williams
Key losses: RB Matt Breida, DT DeForest Buckner, WR Emmanuel Sanders, OT Joe Staley
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan will have to stretch the limits of his creativity this season if he hopes to stay ahead of the Seahawks and maintain his team’s momentum after a stunning collapse in Super Bowl LIV.
San Francisco’s offseason was altered dramatically in mid-June after an eventful couple of days in Nashville, where a number of key 49ers joined quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for voluntary practices. First, breakout second-year receiver Deebo Samuel broke his foot while running a route, which puts him in question to return by the start of the season. The next day, return specialist Richie James Jr. broke his wrist, followed by an announcement that an unnamed 49ers player had tested positive for COVID-19.
As a result, the receiver unit could look somewhat different for the 49ers at the start of the season, with the exception of mainstay Kendrick Bourne. Second-year receiver Jalen Hurd was looking to be a breakout star during the 2019 preseason before incurring a back injury that kept him out for the entire year; if he stays healthy, he could easily step into a starting role. Over the offseason, San Francisco signed former Chargers wideout Travis Benjamin to a one-year contract and drafted two receivers in the 2020 NFL Draft – first-rounder Brandon Aiyuk and seventh-rounder Jauan Jennings.
The player who stands to gain the most from this opportunity, however, is third-year receiver Dante Pettis, who encountered the dreaded “sophomore slump” in 2020 after a promising rookie season. Pettis accumulated a number of injuries in 2020, including a torn pectoral in training camp that prevented him from building and retaining the upper body strength needed to be a competitive NFL receiver. He showed a couple of flashes of his old self when he did see the field, but his overall production dropped enough that he was designated a healthy scratch for the Super Bowl. With 2020 being Pettis’ prove-it year, he will likely see plenty of preseason and early-season action in the voids left at kick returner or at receiver.
Once again, the 49ers’ running back situation inspires plenty of debate, even after the offseason trade of Matt Breida to the Dolphins. Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman should be locks to make the roster, but plenty of questions surround the rest. Jerick McKinnon has spent two years on injured reserve, while Jeff Wilson Jr. contributed almost solely as a goal-line back in 2019. The 49ers signed two undrafted free agents at the position – JaMycal Hasty out of Baylor and Salvon Ahmed out of Washington – but both are considered long shots to make the 53-man roster.
The offensive line, which struggled at times last season due to a number of injuries to starting players, has gone through a bit of a shakeup with the 49ers replacing retired Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley with Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams, as well as releasing guard Mike Person in favor of the much younger Daniel Brunskill. Center Weston Richburg, who missed the entire 2019 postseason with a torn patellar tendon, is on course to be ready for training camp.
Finally, the vaunted 49ers defense looks to be as efficient as ever, despite the trade of star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts. San Francisco replaced Buckner with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft with South Carolina product Javon Kinlaw, a First-Team Associated Press All-American, while also re-signing safety Jimmie Ward as well as defensive ends Arik Armstead and Ronald Blair III.
The squad also retains cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Akhello Witherspoon, reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Nick Bosa, safety Jaquiski Tartt, and linebackers Kwon Alexander, Fred Warner, and Dre Greenlaw, the latter of whom denied the Seahawks the game-winning touchdown for the NFC West title in 2019.
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