"They were the most injured team in football," Kimes noted. "Despite that, still finished top 10 in DVOA, 12th in EPA, 12th in success rate. Tons of explosives, hilariously. They were third in percentage of plays that went over 10 yards."
Kimes went on to praise George Kittle, emphasizing how vital the All-Pro tight end is to head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense. She shared an eye-opening statistical tidbit that highlights Kittle's elite production.
"George Kittle, amongst all pass catchers last year, was first in yards per target," Kimes said. "Over a quarter of his catches went for 20 or more yards, by the way."
By comparison, the next tight end on the list in yards per target was rookie Brock Bowers of the Las Vegas Raiders, ranked all the way down at No. 31.
Kimes added, "He (Kittle) was fourth league-wide in yards per route run. The only other tight end above 20 was Trey McBride. George Kittle is still so good."
Additionally, Kimes praised Shanahan's play-calling and offensive system, stating that it's difficult to bet against a Shanahan-led unit finishing outside the top 10.
However, co-host Ben Solak expressed a bit more skepticism about the 49ers' outlook.
"It's just so hard to have faith in [RB Christian] McCaffrey [being] back healthy," Solak said, "[WR] Brandon Aiyuk returning back healthy from a pretty traumatic knee injury, enough games of [LT] Trent Williams, enough games of George Kittle, enough high-caliber play from [QB] Brock Purdy, and then also the rest of this offensive line."
Solak stressed that aside from Williams and second-year guard Dominick Puni, there is a lot of uncertainty with the offensive line tasked to protect Purdy, who is now one of the highest-paid players in the NFL.
"There is one certainty, and it is that Kyle Shanahan is good," Solak added. "And then, at every other position, I have reasons for moderate to severe doubt."
For Kimes, the 49ers' offensive success hinges heavily on Aiyuk returning to form. The wide receiver suffered ACL and MCL tears in October, cutting short a season that started well below his usual standard. Kimes hopes Aiyuk can bounce back to his dominant 2023 level, when he recorded 1,342 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
"Because when he looks like Aiyuk, he has a really good pairing with Brock Purdy, who was willing to throw him the ball deep," Kimes said. "He's there for him on extended plays."
With training camp on the horizon, the health and performance of stars like Aiyuk, Kittle, McCaffrey, and Purdy will determine whether the 49ers can live up to Kimes' top-10 expectations.
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