ESPN's Mike Clay has unveiled his projections for the 2024 season, forecasting the San Francisco 49ers to secure 12.4 wins in his analytics model. These predictions delve into individual player performances, offering insights into what we might expect from the team's offense in the upcoming season. Let's look into the offensive projections and highlight some of the top performers from this unit.
Click here to view the defensive projections.
Some key factors to keep in mind:
- The numbers shown are projections for the 2024 NFL regular season (Weeks 1-18).
- Most players max out at 15 projected games played due to injury rates, as most players won't play 17 games.
Quarterback Brock Purdy is anticipated to throw for 3,901 yards, tallying 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while maintaining a completion rate of 66.8 percent. This projection marks a decline from his 2023 performance, where he set a single-season franchise record with 4,280 passing yards.
As expected, running back Christian McCaffrey is poised to lead the 49ers' rushing game. Clay's projections envision him amassing 1,242 rushing yards and 527 receiving yards. The data suggests the star running back will accumulate 16 total touchdowns. Like Purdy, these numbers reflect notable decreases from his 2023 performance.
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is projected to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards for the third consecutive season, with Clay estimating a team-leading 1,068 yards for the team's top receiver. Meanwhile, Aiyuk's teammate, Deebo Samuel, is expected to surpass last season's receiving yards, with a projection of 923. Clay also anticipates the versatile wideout to contribute 165 rushing yards and earn nine total touchdowns.
Below are Clay's full projections for the 49ers offense.
| PASSING | RUSHING | RECEIVING | |||||||||||||
| Pos | Player | Gm | Att | Comp | Yds | TD | INT | Sk | Att | Yds | TD | Tgt | Rec | Yd | TD |
| QB | Brock Purdy | 15 | 476 | 318 | 3901 | 24 | 11 | 33 | 47 | 173 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| QB | Joshua Dobbs | 2 | 62 | 41 | 438 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| RB | Christian McCaffrey | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 263 | 1242 | 12 | 83 | 67 | 527 | 4 |
| RB | Elijah Mitchell | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 327 | 3 | 15 | 12 | 79 | 0 |
| RB | Kyle Juszczyk | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 0 | 21 | 16 | 118 | 1 |
| RB | Jordan Mason | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 164 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 27 | 0 |
| RB | Isaac Guerendo | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 116 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 27 | 0 |
| WR | Brandon Aiyuk | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 113 | 75 | 1068 | 7 |
| WR | Deebo Samuel | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 165 | 3 | 94 | 62 | 923 | 6 |
| WR | Ricky Pearsall | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 29 | 0 | 46 | 29 | 385 | 3 |
| WR | Jauan Jennings | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 15 | 196 | 1 |
| WR | Danny Gray | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 38 | 0 |
| WR | Jacob Cowing | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 0 |
| WR | Ronnie Bell | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TE | George Kittle | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 88 | 63 | 846 | 5 |
| TE | Cameron Latu | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 54 | 0 |
| TE | Eric Saubert | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 33 | 0 |
