2025 Draft Guide: San Francisco 49ers

Coaching History: Last Three Years

Head Coach: Kyle Shanahan (SF ’22-24)
Offensive Coordinator: Klay Kubiak (SF ’22-24)
2024 Record: 6-11

Team Summary

San Francisco’s 2024 didn’t live up to expectations. A preseason injury issue for Christian McCaffrey turned into a lost season for the All-Pro RB. The 49ers then relied on a turnstile of backs looking to replace McCaffrey’s production throughout the season. WR was supposed to be set, after signing Brandon Aiyuk to an extension, returning Deebo Samuel and drafting Ricky Pearsall. However, Pearsall was shot before the season and took time to recover and round into playing shape. Aiyuk lasted only 7 games before being lost to injury. Deebo just couldn’t get himself on track compared to his normal standards.

Shanahan will look to regroup the troops and get the offense back to its form from 2023. They should start the season with Christian McCaffrey ready to roll, but there are still injury questions lingering at WR (and backup RB). Shanahan is an uncommon offensive mind, though, so you can fully expect him to have some things schemed up to maximize the playmakers he does have available.

2024 Ranks (2023 Rank)

• Points: 13th (3rd)
• Yards: 4th (2nd)
• Passing Attempts: 22nd (32nd)
• Passing Yards: 4th (4th)
• Passing TDs: 13th (2nd)
• Rushing Attempts: 14th (8th)
• Rushing Yards: 12th (3rd)
• Rushing TDs: 11th (1st)

2024 Positional Market Share

You can throw out the 2024 rushing distribution chart. When McCaffrey is healthy, he’ll dominate touches from the backfield. The team will no longer be filtering carries to Deebo Samuel, who has moved on to Washington, so there will be even more opportunities for CMC than in past years.

How the exact distribution will work out between Brandon Aiyuk, Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings and George Kittle will largely depend on health. All should be somewhere between a 16-24% target share when healthy, and McCaffrey should be the one to pick up any slack left by any absences.

Depth Chart:

• QB: Brock Purdy, Mac Jones
• RB: Christian McCaffrey, Isaac Guerendo, Brian Robinson Jr.
• WR: Brandon Aiyuk (X), Ricky Pearsall (Z), Jauan Jennings, Demarcus Robinson, Skyy Moore
• TE: George Kittle, Luke Farrell

Player Breakdowns

Purdy is no longer “Mr. Irrelevant”. Being the last pick in the 7th round was a fun backstory, but now he’s earned his payday, and expectations are set to match. He has been extremely efficient in the Shanahan offense, and is an underrated asset in fantasy, but he doesn’t run enough to challenge for anything more than a low-end QB1 option. He does get a small boost compared to other QBs, as his main RB is one of the best pass-catching weapons in the league.

If you’re fading Christian McCaffrey because he was hurt last year, you’re playing scared. Only a handful of players find themselves with a better mix of talent and opportunity. He should be one of the first names called in fantasy drafts, but he has been slipping to the back of the first round or even into the second round as managers remember setting lineups with McCaffrey settled into their IR spot. Since 2018, if McCaffrey has played 16 games, he has finished no worse than THE RB2 in PPR formats. Letting him slip, is basically just predicting injury, which you likely aren’t doing for many other players.

TRADE ALERT: Robinson has been traded to the San Francisco 49ers. He should immediately compete with Isaac Guerendo for the RB2 role behind Christian McCaffrey. Slot Robinson into the tier of handcuff RBs. If we get reports that he is the backup behind CMC, he moves toward the top of the handcuff list. If he loses the battle with Guerendo, he is borderline un-rosterable in redraft.

Aiyuk is likely to start the season on PUP as he continues to heal from a knee injury. However, don’t overlook Aiyuk in fantasy drafts. He was one of the elite WRs for a stretch in 2022-2023, and San Francisco did pay him his desired contract for a reason. He may not help you out early in the season, but he absolutely could be a significant factor down the stretch and in the fantasy playoffs. You should happily invest at his WR51 price tag, as you aren’t even drafting him to be a starter on your team.

Pearsall is among the most popular breakout candidates for 2025. He was a 2024 First Round NFL Draft Pick, but was shot in an attempted mugging ahead of the season. He recovered quickly and was still able to play a significant portion of the season, and really improved towards the end of the year. From Week 14 on last year, Pearsall averaged 11.9 FPPG, which would have put him in the WR3 range. Expect to see improvement from the player, and an improved situation as well.

Jennings doesn’t get a WR positional designation, as he has been a do-it-all option for San Francisco. While typically playing as the Z or Slot, he stepped in for Brandon Aiyuk at the X and performed well for the 49ers when called upon. He suffered a calf injury in training camp, which has held him out for quite some time, but when he is able to be healthy, he is a solid weapon. His current health status demands that you proceed with caution, but if he continues to slip in drafts, don’t forget about Jennings as a bench stash.

Kittle will be one of the most popular picks at TE this season. He finished as TE3 on the season, but was TE1 in FPPG as he played less games than Brock Bowers and Trey McBride. While Bowers and McBride are being drafted in the 2nd- or 3rd Round, Kittle is sliding to the 4th, which makes him a priority target. He is also the rare TE who can play as a WR1 if needed, and his all-around skillset keeps him on the field in all situations.

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