One more week and we get football games. Then all this speculation, overanalysis, and take-a-thon can come to an end. We can see what the San Francisco 49ers really are.<\/p>\n
But the league isn\u2019t too high on the 49ers in 2025, or more specifically, that they can keep giving Brock Purdy all those weapons that he\u2019s had. The Athletic\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0Jeff Howe compiled a list of notes\u00a0on 32 teams in the NFL and gave intel on what other teams are saying about each other. For the 49ers, there were two things. On the negative side, Howe says that \u201crival executives\u201d are skeptical of the 49ers getting elite talent around Brock Purdy after his extension.<\/p>\n Rival executives\u00a0sound skeptical\u00a0of the 49ers\u2019 ability to continue surrounding Brock Purdy with elite talent after they paid their QB this offseason. The Niners already felt the squeeze over the offseason by trading Deebo Samuel, though that was forecast a year ago when they paid fellow receiver Brandon Aiyuk. But the strength of the roster was built on high-end contracts, and their depth has been exposed when Niners stars have gone down with injuries. Purdy\u2019s contract is fine in the immediate future, especially if he continues to play well, but the margin for error will begin to shrink in 2028, when his cap hit explodes to $57.6 million.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n We don\u2019t know exactly who these rival executives are: NFC West rivals, possible playoff rivals (like Green Bay), or just executives with a grudge. Regardless, the consensus is that with Purdy signing a new contract and the 49ers now having a portion of the salary cap committed to the quarterback, people think the 49ers can\u2019t surround Purdy with elite talent.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Sure, the 49ers could have difficulty surrounding Brock Purdy, but let\u2019s not act like they\u2019ve been adding these pieces via free agency. Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and others were draft picks. Ricky Pearsall seems promising from what we\u2019ve seen, so as long as the 49ers can land some draft picks, I don\u2019t see the skepticism here.<\/p>\n I\u2019m really watching Pearsall this season, one, because of how he\u2019ll be a No. 1 due to all the Jauan Jennings drama, and two, if he can play the part before Aiyuk returns, that\u2019s a piece the 49ers found to put around Purdy.<\/p>\n If Pearsall fits the definition of elite talent, then how many elite players does San Francisco have to draft before people realize the guy getting them the ball is pretty darned good? It\u2019s a bit ridiculous that Purdy did more with his prior weapons than Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens, etc., but it\u2019s all them as to why he\u2019s doing well.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also a positive here: the addition of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh:<\/p>\n OK, now for something a little more immediate: Coaches and executives are excited to see defensive coordinator Robert Saleh return to his bread and butter as one of the league\u2019s best play callers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n While I\u2019m tempering expectations of the 49ers a bit, I think the defense will have a massive shot in the arm. Steve Wilks was the equivalent of having level 99 characters in an RPG, simply using random physical attacks and the most powerful spells in the game to take down a final boss. Sure, you could use those characters with a strategy, but it\u2019s not like they were gonna go down easily. Then Nick Sorensen just wasn\u2019t ready, it seemed like. Saleh can have communication issues (see Super Bowl), but there\u2019s no doubt the team will not look like it did in those final moments of the second Seattle Seahawks game in 2024.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Speaking of the Seahawks, Howe says his intel tells him the Seahawks are a \u201cbigger threat in the NFC than many people expect.\u201d Take from that what you will.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A recent artical at The Athletic compiled intel on all 32 teams in the league. Brock Purdy came with skepticism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":85823,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[18,84,13,3381,718,3382,1975,3383,486,90,12,390],"class_list":["post-85822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl","tag-brandon-aiyuk","tag-brock-purdy","tag-deebo-samuel","tag-executives","tag-jauan-jennings","tag-jeff-howe","tag-jimmy-garoppolo","tag-nick-mullens","tag-ricky-pearsall","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-49ers","tag-seattle-seahawks"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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