The San Francisco 49ers look to start the 2023 season strong with a Week 1 road win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, the team may be without its best defensive player, pass-rushing phenom and the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Nick Bosa.
Bosa and the Niners continue to work toward a new contract. The defensive end began a holdout at the start of training camp on July 25.
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While the 49ers roster is stocked with talent, Bosa's absence in the season opener would be a significant loss for last season's No. 1 ranked defense. The Steelers offense, led by second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett, will be looking to take advantage if Bosa is not in the lineup.
The 49ers have their own second-year quarterback at the helm of their offense. Brock Purdy started eight games last season, helping guide San Francisco to the NFC Championship Game before suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow. He underwent surgery in March and began practicing at the start of training camp, playing in two preseason games.
San Francisco is betting everything on its second-year quarterback after trading Trey Lance, the player for which they gave up hefty draft capital in 2021, to the Dallas Cowboys.
One area to keep an eye on is special teams. Rookie kicker Jake Moody had a hit-and-miss preseason. He has been dealing with a right quad injury that has put his Week 1 availbility in danger.
What does the national media think about the Niners' roster compared to the rest of the league? Below is a sample of some of the more prominent power rankings around the web and where San Francisco currently stands within each. The highest rankings are listed first.
Pro Football Talk
Current Ranking: 2
Previous rank: N/A
"If they can keep Brock Purdy healthy all year, they have enough around him to win it all." — Mike Florio
Sporting News
Current Ranking: 3
Previous rank: 3
"The 49ers cleared up their QB mess by being definitive about a healthy Brock Purdy vs. a now-traded Trey Lance. They took some blocking hits, but they are fine around Pury with all their key offensive skill weapons staying healthy with pass complementing run." — Vinnie Iyer
Current Ranking: 3
Previous rank: N/A
"Trey Lance is gone, leaving Kyle Shanahan to his true life's work: rehabbing or maximizing the careers of immoble system quarterbacks. One could imagine that Lance was torturing the coach like an unfinished piece of artwork. Now, Shanahan's piano is out of the sandbox. His true muse, the moderately paced strides of Sam Darnold, are dancing in his head. The 49ers should win the NFC. I don't see any real competition of their caliber, and while one-off losses can happen, they have a strong enough foundation to survive the next freak injury or offensive dry spell." — Conor Orr
NFL.com
Current Ranking: 4
Previous rank: 3
"In the preseason Power Rankings, I had the 49ers third -- way higher than the social-media cognoscenti felt was warranted. They have no quarterback, some said, which was incorrect ... but it brings up an interesting debate: Is Brock Purdy guaranteed to be the answer? His rookie effort was eye-openingly good, but that's an awfully small sample size of eight starts -- and Purdy is coming off a serious elbow injury. Thankfully, the Niners are pretty stacked at most positions, and as last season proved, they can win big with multiple quarterbacks starting. Purdy's surpassed all expectations and has returned from injury, which likely made it easier for the team to trade Trey Lance. But there's no doubt that questions remain about whether the former Mr. Irrelevant is the team's QB of the future heading into the 2023 season." — Eric Edholm
USA Today
Current Ranking: 4
Previous rank: 5
"Even if QB Brock Purdy's elbow is an early reason for trepidation, they should be fine … assuming DE Nick Bosa's deal gets done and he doesn't miss much of a beat whenever he shows up." — Nate Davis
Bleacher Report
Current Ranking: 5
Previous rank: N/A
"There was no bigger surprise at the quarterback position in the NFL last year than Brock Purdy, who led the team to the NFC Championship Game before injuring his elbow. ... The 49ers have a Super Bowl-caliber roster: Offensive firepower, offensive line and one of the NFL's top defenses. It's all there. But without solid quarterback play, they aren't dethroning the Eagles in the NFC." — NFL Staff
CBS Sports
Current Ranking: 5
Previous rank: N/A
"If Brock Purdy plays like he did last year, they can win it all. He has so many playmakers, led by Christian McCaffrey, to make it work." — Pete Prisco
Current Ranking: 5
Previous rank: 4
"What do the 49ers do the best? Play defense. No disrespect to the Niners' deep supply of offensive talent, but this is a defensive unit that returns eight starters and added elite defensive tackle Javon Hargrave in the offseason. New coordinator Steve Wilks won't change much schematically, but his background working with defensive backs should help improve that group, which some observers consider the potential weakness of this defense. The Niners had a top defense last season, and they'll view anything less than that as a letdown in 2023." — Nick Wagoner
Pro Football Network
Current Ranking: 5
Previous rank: N/A
"The 49ers are the most fascinating roster inside of the top 10. Their roster isn't as appealing on paper as many of the teams surrounding them, but they have never been as appetizing as their play on the field has been in the past few runs through the playoffs. Steve Wilks' defense will be fascinating to keep an eye on. He's historically been a back-to-front guy but is learning the ways of the 49ers. But if Nick Bosa doesn't show up, it will throw a wrench in what they do best: rushing the passer." — Dalton Miller
Yahoo! Sports
Current Ranking: 5
Previous rank: N/A
"The 49ers will escape a lot of criticism for the Trey Lance trade because they've built such a good roster despite one of the worst trade-ups in NFL history. They wasted three first-round draft picks and a third on a quarterback who didn't really fit Kyle Shanahan's offense and got only four starts. It was an organizational failure. Maybe wasting those picks will bite the Niners, but it doesn't look that way yet." — Frank Schwab
The Athletic
Current Ranking: 10
Previous rank: N/A
"Best-case scenario: Despite the departure of DeMeco Ryans, last year's No. 1 defense remains elite thanks in part to the addition of Hargrave as an interior pass-rushing force. Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey play every game of the season in the same year for the first time ever, and Brock Purdy proves he's no Cinderella. They walk through the conference playoffs, take advantage of a Super Bowl opponent battered by the AFC gauntlet, and the Shanahans cement their legacies as the first father-son duo to win titles as head coaches." — Bo Wulf
