There are high expectations surrounding the 2024 San Francisco 49ers. The team is coming off an impressive season that fell just short of a Super Bowl LVIII victory. With an equally—if not more—stacked roster this year, anything less than a championship would be a huge disappointment.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic, who has been covering the 49ers since 2002, believes this might be the best team he's seen in all that time. While last season's squad was elite, it had its weaknesses.
"They spent the offseason bulking up two spots that were big weaknesses on this team last year," Barrows shared during an interview on Bay Area radio station 95.7 The Game. "One was cornerback. We know about the travails of the third cornerback last year, and that's a deep spot this year, to the point where we don't really know who that third cornerback is, but they've got a lot of options."
Further reflecting on the cornerback depth from last season, Barrows pointed out, "The blatant weakness last year was that third quarterback spot that bothered them throughout the season. They started Logan Ryan at nickel cornerback in the Super Bowl, a guy who was on a Disney cruise in November of last year, and that ended up being critical at times. So I think that they shored that up."
The defensive front—specifically the pass rush—was another focus during the offseason.
"And then the second is that, you'll remember at midseason, they had to go shopping for not one, but two defensive ends," Barrows explained. "They weren't getting any heat off the edges, certainly not opposite Nick Bosa, and so they addressed that. I don't think that they addressed that to the same degree that they did cornerback, but Leonard Floyd is probably their best bookend for Nick Bosa since Dee Ford was here in 2019."
Floyd has been consistent, registering at least nine sacks in each of the past four seasons, with two double-digit sack campaigns. His presence is precisely what the 49ers have been missing opposite Bosa.
Barrows also highlighted the change in defensive coordinator, with Nick Sorensen replacing Steve Wilks, noting that Sorensen's familiarity with the scheme should significantly improve the defense.
It's not just the defense that excites Barrows; he believes this 49ers team might be the best overall unit he's ever covered.
"It's all set up for success," Barrows declared. "I mean, you can take a magnifying glass and find a couple of cracks on this roster, but it's the best roster in the league. It's the best one that I've covered since I started covering this team in 2002. So there's that. This team has an excellent chance of winning the Super Bowl."
While Barrows has some concerns about the depth along the defensive front, he believes the offensive line, with rookie Dominick Puni stepping in at right guard, is an improvement over last year.
"Tight end, I can't say if that's better or worse," Barrows continued. "Running back potentially could be a weakness if Christian McCaffrey ever gets hurt. But these are all things that any team throughout the history of the NFL is going to have to deal with. I think it's (the roster) as good or perhaps better than last year's squad."
