Well, the 49ers have at least one NFL analyst in their corner for the upcoming season.
“I’m calling the 49ers the team to beat in 2021,” NFL Media’s Mike Silver said Friday in a segment on NFL Network.
Silver said we have to remember the 2019 49ers team that had a lot of strong players. A squad that was “flat out loaded,” but yes -- he recognized the team was hit hard with the injury bug in 2020.
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“Now they had brutal injury issues last season, losing stars in Nick Bosa, George Kittle was out most of the year and obviously quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, among others,” Silver said.
But Silver added he believes the team will come back strong, especially after their blockbuster trade to acquire the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft that will ensure they draft their quarterback of the future.
“You saw the bold move to trade up for the No. 3 pick, you’re going to get the quarterback of Kyle Shanahan’s choosing, and you’re going to have a lot of difference makers out on the field," Silver said. "You heard me earlier today talk about the Texans and their complete absence of cornerstone players. Think of how many the 49ers have: Bosa, Kittle, Fred Warner among them -- just absolute game-changers. They think Brandon Aiyuk could be one of them going into Year 2. I think, as good as the Bucs look on paper, Tom Brady can’t do it forever.”
San Francisco 49ers
It’s still up for debate if Brady will last forever, but that’s another blog.
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Silver makes a great point though. The 2020 season is a wash for a team that really was hit hard with injuries. With all of those guys returning, it’ll be a similar roster to the team that took a trip to Miami Gardens in 2019.
We shall see.