While the summer season brings much enjoyment to the average person, for an NFL fan, it represents a desolate wasteland where Sundays just aren't quite as vibrant as in the autumn months. However, with each passing day, we inch closer to the beginning of the 2023 NFL season, which officially kicks off on September 7 this year. Whether you've had your favorite team's tweet notifications turned on all summer or if you've decided to tune out all football news entirely, you'll be able to learn everything you need to know about your team going into the 2023-24 season right here. In today's article, I'll be discussing the San Francisco 49ers. I wrote a guidebook for every team in the NFL heading into the 2023 season. To check out an article for another team, click the link below: https://www.bucketsquadsportsreports.com/nfl 2022 Season Recap Despite injuries to multiple quarterbacks which led to the 3rd string QB finishing the season, the 49ers made it to the NFC Championship for the second year in a row. Unfortunately, they received the same result as 2021’s appearance and ended their year a game shy of the Super Bowl. Regardless, it appears that San Francisco will succeed no matter who plays quarterback for them in 2023. The 49ers were a top 10 offensive and defensive team, and received a significant boost in offensive production when they traded for Christian McCaffrey early in the season. The defense is always strong but did struggle against the pass at times. No one was able to run with much success against their formidable front seven. Significant Roster Moves The Niners like what they saw from Brock Purdy enough to move on from both Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance in the offseason. The only significant member of the offense to depart the team was tackle Mike McGlinchey. A couple of their D-linemen and D-backs will join other teams in 2023, though Samson Ebukam is the only one of those who started almost every game in 2022. There weren’t many gaps to fill in free agency this offseason, but San Francisco did sign Sam Darnold to compete for the starting job in preseason. Javon Hargrave will start at defensive tackle, while the remaining additions will add depth on the offensive and defensive lines. 2023 Draft Class The 49ers had nine picks in the 2023 draft, but six of them came in the 5th round or later. The other three all came in the 3rd round. While kicker Jake Moody is in line to win the starting job as preseason comes to a close, the remaining picks will all begin their careers as backups, if they make the 53-man roster at all. Ji’Ayir Brown should see plenty of action at safety, along with Cameron Latu at tight end. Season Schedule The 49ers will take on the NFC East and the AFC North in 2023 to go along with their six divisional games. Their other three opponents are the Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With an opponent prior season win percentage of .514, San Francisco has the 15th hardest schedule in the NFL. San Francisco’s primetime games include two Thursday night games at the NY Giants and versus Seattle, one Sunday night game at Dallas, and two Monday night games versus Minnesota and Baltimore. Their Thursday night game against the Seahawks takes place on Thanksgiving. Depth Charts Offense Defense Special Teams The 49ers return 18 of their 22 offensive and defensive starters from last year, including 10 of 11 from the offense. The defense should continue to be stout and there are lots of weapons on the offensive side of the ball. They’ll hope for Brock Purdy to take a step forward in his 2nd season, but should have a relatively high floor overall due to the strength around him in all facets of the game. Coaching Staff Kyle Shanahan returns for his 7th season as head coach of the 49ers, along with one coordinator from last season’s staff: Special Teams Coordinator Brian Schneider (2nd season). Shanahan also serves unofficially as the Offensie Coordinator and playcaller. The 49ers hired Steve Wilks to serve as Defensive Coordinator for the 2023 season after Wilks spent the latter part of last season as interim head coach of the Panthers. He replaces DaMeco Ryans, who left after last season to become head coach of the Texans. Betting Odds Oddsmakers have set the regular season win total for San Francisco at 10.5 games. As of right now, the 49ers are the favorites to win the NFC West and the 2nd most likely team to win the NFC as a whole. At +1000 to win Super Bowl LVIII, they are 4th among all teams in the league. Bucket Squad Predictions Bucket Squad Sports Reports predicts the 49ers to finish 12-5 in 2023 for to win the NFC West. They’ll miss out on the NFC’s top seed by one game but will still have home-field advantage at least until the conference championship game.
What do you think? Will San Francisco be better or worse than I'm projecting? What offseason moves made by the 49ers surprised you the most? Leave a comment down below and be sure to check the "NFL" section of the website for more NFL team guidebooks as I finish them. Written by Nick Swatson
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