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The NFL released its full 2019 regular-season schedule on Wednesday. Fans immediately tried to look at the San Francisco 49ers schedule and predict what the team's final record might be. We've seen extremely optimistic fans jokingly (at least, I assume they were joking) predicting an undefeated season to pessimistic fans projecting an 0-9 start. And, of course, everything in between.
It's April, and the NFL Draft is still a week away. Making record predictions this early seems trifling. But what else are fans to do in the days following the schedule release?
What of the experts? What about the beat writers who follow the team regularly? How do they feel the 49ers will fare during the upcoming season? They know the team better than most, and some have already made their 2019 record predictions.
Let's take a look at what they foresee for the Niners in 2019. We focused on reporters who are around the team regularly.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic: 7-9
Barrows believes the 49ers defense has the best chance of improving via the upcoming draft. The team already added Dee Ford this offseason, and the addition of a rookie like
Nick Bosa could be significant.
"We're talking about a team that won four games last year," Barrows said this week on
95.7 The Game. "Even if there is a nice bounce that they get out of the draft, how many [more wins] are we talking about?"
Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee: 8-8
Like several other beat writers, Biderman didn't just make a record prediction, he
went week-by-week and predicted the outcome for each matchup on the 49ers' 16-game schedule. The result was a .500 finish, but Biderman has San Francisco going 2-1 out of the gate and before the bye. As for that brutal six-game finish to the season, he has the 49ers winning just two of those games.
Biderman has the 49ers beating the Bengals, Steelers, Redskins, Panthers, Falcons, and splitting each series with their NFC West opponents.
Grant Cohn of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat: 6-10
Cohn also went week-by-week,
making predictions for each matchup. He has the 49ers entering their bye week with a 1-2 record. His wins come against the Bengals, Panthers, Falcons, the Seahawks at home, and a sweep of the Cardinals. Despite the six-win season, Cohn has the 49ers going through a nice little four-game win streak starting at Week 8.
Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group: 9-7
Inman and Barros were the only beat writers who
didn't go week-by-week with his prediction. In fact, Inman quickly snuck it into his recent schedule breakdown.
"Regardless of how the schedule plays out from a where-and-when standpoint, Year 3 of the Shanahan era comes with more urgency to win," wrote Inman. "He showed players a graphic this week of his roster overhaul and how only 10 players remain since 2016."
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area: 8-8
Maiocco very quickly went
week-by-week in a tweet. He predicts the 49ers to win their season opener on the road against the Buccaneers, their home opener against the Steelers, and then beating the Browns, Panthers, the Seahawks and Rams at home, and sweeping the Cardinals.
Nick Wagoner of ESPN: 8-8
Wagoner also
went week-by-week with his prediction. He has the 49ers beating the Bengals, Steelers, Panthers, Packers, Falcons, sweeping the Cardinals, and splitting the series against the Seahawks.
"The 49ers got no favors from the NFL in the early and latter parts of this schedule," wrote Wagoner. "San Francisco is slated to play five of its first eight games on the road, and though it will have an early bye in Week 4, it will be needed considering three of its first four trips east."
San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner was visibly heartbroken when his teammate and friend, Dre Greenlaw, left Super Bowl LVIII with a torn Achilles. Greenlaw's energy is crucial to the 49ers' defense, and his absence in the second half likely contributed to their overtime defeat.
Greenlaw underwent successful surgery on February 15 and has since embarked on a long road to recovery. While he hopes to rejoin his teammates for Week 1 of the upcoming season, it's more realistic that he will start the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
When asked how he is supporting Greenlaw in his recovery, Warner responded, "Just being there for him, really. Kind
In the run-up to the NFL draft, 49ers fans were clamoring for the team to select a right tackle, which many considered to be the position of greatest need. Yet, grading and projections by Pro Football Focus (PFF) suggest the Niners' interior line needs improvement equally or more, especially in pass protection.
PFF recently released its rankings of centers and guards ahead of the 2024 season. None of the San Francisco guards cracked PFF's top 32 ranking, and Jake Brendel was ranked a pedestrian 21st best center in the league.
Pro Football Focus writer Thomas Valentine noted Brendel's pass-blocking grade suffered greatly in 2023, but he "recorded a career-high 70.5 run-blocking grade, which ranked 15th among centers."
Valentine said there is "hope and
After representing the NFC in last season's Super Bowl, the San Francisco 49ers are once again poised as championship contenders for the upcoming 2024 season. The team has been to four NFC Championship Games and two Super Bowls over the past five seasons.
Success begets popularity, as evidenced by the remarkable presence of six 49ers players in the NFLPA's rankings of officially
The San Francisco 49ers have had success signing their big-name players to contract extensions in recent years, securing deals with George Kittle, Fred Warner, Deebo Samuel, and Nick Bosa. However, that last one didn't get finalized until dangerously close to the start of the regular season.
This year, the team has been trying to get a deal done with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. While the 49ers were confident early on, given their successful track record, that a deal would be reached, the two sides reportedly remain far apart in negotiations.
Last week, Michael Silver of the San Francisco
