Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus went through all 32 NFL teams and picked a reason for optimism for each heading into the 2023 season. For example, last season's five-win Denver Broncos got a new Super Bowl-winning head coach in Sean Payton. Kenny Pickett could be ready for a second-year leap with the Pittsburgh Steelers (Hopefully, not in Week 1, though).
What's the reason for optimism for the San Francisco 49ers? Sikkema admits that picking just one reason is challenging, so he went with the team's elite roster. San Francisco has stockpiled talented playmakers at almost every level.
"Yes, their quarterback situation is still up in the air," wrote Sikkema. "But look at the elite players on their roster: Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, and Deebo Samuel. And that's not even mentioning ascending young guys such as Brandon Aiyuk, Dre Greenlaw, and Talanoa Hufanga. Top it off with one of the best coaches in the league in Kyle Shanahan, and expectations should be high again."
The 49ers' roster is so infused with talent that many, like Sikkema, are willing to overlook the quarterback uncertainty. In his second year, last season's rookie sensation, Brock Purdy, is recovering from a devastating injury—a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow. There is optimism that the 23-year-old quarterback will return to form and be ready for the start of the regular season.
Still, Purdy has only eight starts under his belt. While he was a big part of the 49ers' late-season 12-game win streak and playoff push, the concern is it might be too small a sample size to draw any concrete conclusions, even without factoring in returning from a serious injury.
That leaves two former No. 3 overall picks, Trey Lance and Sam Darnold, competing for the QB2 job, and maybe even the Week 1 starting job, should Purdy have a setback.
Lance started last season as the 49ers' starting quarterback but suffered an ankle injury during Week 2. Even last offseason, the quarterback was still hindered by the finger injury he sustained in 2021.
"I'm not going to lie to you -- I think Trey looks significantly better than he did last year. I really do," Kittle said this week. "I think his confidence is there. I think that he's throwing really good passes. ... He overthrows people once in a while. Hey, it is what it is. He's still learning and stuff.
"But I mean, just watching him, he just looks so much more comfortable and confident in the pocket, and I really appreciate that from him, from all the work that he's put into it."