The Niners started out the season as the favorites to win the NFC West. The talk around the league was that they had one of the best rosters in all of football when healthy. Those dreams were shattered quickly going into week one with all of the drama surrounding Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffery’s IR announcement right before their first game. They ended up finishing last in the division at 6-11 with a ton of question marks on both sides of the ball. Going forward, it may be time for the Niners to cut ties with some of their superstar players so that they can finally let their future stars shine now.
QB: Brock Purdy
The Niners finally found a guy who can play quarterback for them and the guy is Brock Purdy. He surprised me and many others this season while dealing with insurmountable injuries. Purdy threw for 3,864 yards while recording 25 total touchdowns, which should hopefully land him a great contract in the future.
RB: Christian McCaffery
Once the king of fantasy football, Christian McCaffery is now more like the King’s pawn when it came to football this year. In his absence, both Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo filled in great, giving the Niners many options going forward with McCaffery.
WR: Deebo Samuel
Deebo Samuel was supposed to have a great year and it was overshadowed by Jauan Jennings’s emergence in place of Brandon Aiyuk. By the end of the season, Samuel seemed to be done with the gadget moniker, which made him successful in wanting to be the alpha. Was there jealousy for Jennings, or is his time with the Niners finally coming to an end? We’ll know more soon enough, but for now, he’s still a great player on a strong team.
TE: George Kittle
George Kittle is simply the heart and soul of the Niners offense and it’s not even close. Kittle had an amazing season, and I see none of that slowing down any time soon since he’s one of Purdy’s favorite targets.
Defense: Fred Warner
Fred Warner showed why he’s still one of the best linebackers in the NFL. Firing around like a heat-seeking missile, Warner recorded 131 total tackles, one sack, four forced fumbles, two interceptions, one touchdown.
Coaching: Kyle Shanahan
With one year left on his contract, Kyle Shanahan’s future with the Niners is confirmed for now per the team’s owner Jed York. However, a shake-up is needed if the Niners plan on getting back to first in the NFC West. With the recent news of Robert Salah coming back as the defensive coordinator, this goal becomes much easier since his defense was nasty in his days with the Niners before. Going forward the Niners definitely have a chance to get back to the limelight if they stay healthy.