Are the San Francisco 49ers really being slept on this year as Super Bowl contenders? I honestly think they might be. 

Danny Parkins of First Things First was talking about the 49ers this week after they activated tight end George Kittle off the PUP list and had running back Christian McCaffrey return to practice for the first time. And he made a point worth paying attention to.

“The Niners might be the dangerous team that we’re forgetting about. If they have Christian McCaffrey, they are good,” Parkins said.

Parkins also argued the 49ers are basically unbeatable when they have a healthy McCaffrey and Kittle. Now, the latter part of that isn’t necessarily true. But I think we’re all stuck in this mode of talking about San Francisco and its injury problems. Obviously that’s understandable considering how many guys have gone down or gotten banged up in training camp already. 

But what if the 49ers stay relatively healthy throughout the regular season? What could they do? What could they be this year?

Kyle Shanahan knows how to coach through adversity

Kyle Shanahan is no stranger to coaching injured teams. The 49ers ranked in the top-10 of most-injured teams in most recent seasons, and Shanahan was able to lead them to a 12-5 record last year before losing in the divisional round to the Seattle Seahawks. He got the most out of a roster that was brutally banged up.

Looking at the schedule, San Francisco currently has the 15th-easiest strength of schedule, about dead middle based on opposing teams’ win percentage in 2025. Most major sportsbooks have the 49ers’ win total sitting at about 10.5, projecting them as a wild card team this season.

Now look, I think it is safe to say, and this is no offense to the 49ers, that they will not win their division. They are probably in the toughest division in the NFL right now when you consider the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams having two of the best rosters in the NFL. 

I expect one of those teams, probably the Rams, to win that division. But again, I think we see three teams from the NFC West make the playoffs on that side of the bracket, just like last year.

The talent is there if the 49ers stay healthy

If, just if, the 49ers can stay relatively healthy and sustain players throughout the season, look at what they have: Brock Purdy has another year under his belt. McCaffrey is back in the backfield, and San Francisco drafted Kaelon Black to give them two dynamic pieces at running back. 

Ricky Pearsall going down is not great, but bringing back Deebo Samuel and having the quick emergence of rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling across from Mike Evans makes this a potent passing attack. If Kittle can get back quick and stay healthy, we know what he can do.

Normally I would be concerned about the defense with Robert Saleh leaving to coach the Tennessee Titans. But the 49ers brought in Raheem Morris as their defensive coordinator, and there are talented pieces all over this defensive unit. You can say all you want about Raheem Morris as a head coach, but he is a very-good-to-great defensive coordinator. I think San Francisco has another pretty solid ball club overall when you look at all three phases of the team.

I’ll make my final predictions in the coming weeks. But I will say this: if the 49ers stay relatively healthy this year, I think it is fair to say they are Super Bowl contenders.