2019 NFL Power Rankings: Who heads into summer at No. 1?
By Ian Cummings
No. 19 – San Francisco 49ers
In the wake of the Falcons’ historic offensive success in the 2016 playoffs, Kyle Shanahan was prophesied as the next great offensive mind to take the leap and become a head coach. That prophecy came to pass, as Shanahan was named the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 2017.
Since then, everyone’s been waiting for the man of prophecy to do what was promised.
Granted, the cards haven’t fallen Shanahan’s way quite yet. 2017 was a necessary down year for the impending rebuild, and in 2018, Shanahan’s hand-picked starting quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, tore his ACL early on. In spite of all the adversity, Shanahan’s offensive genius displayed itself in spurts. Shanahan made UDFA Nick Mullens a competent NFL quarterback in his rookie year, and Shanahan’s passing offense was tied for No. 7 in the NFL in yards per attempt, with 8.0.
It’s 2019 now, and Garoppolo is healthy, as is high-priced offensive weapon Jerick McKinnon. Shanahan has a new, retooled receiving core consisting of Dante Pettis, Deebo Samuel, Trent Taylor, Marquise Goodwin, and Jalen Hurd. He also has George Kittle, who emerged as a top three NFL tight end in 2018. Now, with Tevin Coleman added into the mix, Shanahan has all the weapons at his disposal to recreate his success with Atlanta.
On the defensive side of the ball, the 49ers are far less polished, although they made some moves that could pay off, including the signings of Kwon Alexander and Jason Verrett. Verrett, in particular, has immense potential. But in sense, he’s the embodiment of the 49ers themselves. They have potential, but they’re also very unproven, and it hasn’t worked out for them before. They’ll be one of the most intriguing stories of 2019, if things can finally go their way.