2023 NFL Predictions: NFC West
KEVIN HANSON (@EDSFootball)
Updated: Thursday, September 7th
Before the start of the season, I will post my NFL division-by-division predictions for the 2023 NFL regular season and postseason.
Instead of projecting an outright winner and loser in all 272 regular-season games, I've assigned a win probability to each team in every game and totalled them up.
With that said, here are our early NFC West projections for each team including their win total.
1. San Francisco 49ers - Projected Wins: 10.84
The 49ers gave up a lot to get Trey Lance in 2021, but finding a starting quarterback with the last pick of the draft is anything but irrelevant. Bad jokes aside, Brock Purdy (elbow) appears healthy heading into the season and the 49ers have a talented offensive line and an elite group of pass catchers. On a roster with Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey, efficiency is all that is really needed from the quarterback to get the ball in the hands of the team's playmakers.
The 49ers have lost defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans to the Texans, but the biggest concern for the 49ers defense going into the 2023 season was the status of Nick Bosa, who was entering the final year of his contract. The two sides agreed to a massive contract extension on Wednesday, which ends his holdout. Along with Micah Parsons and Myles Garrett, Bosa is one of the NFL's three best pass rushers and the reigning NFL AP Defensive Player of the Year after recording a league-high 18.5 sacks in 2022. Not only is Bosa one of the best defensive players in the league, but the 49ers have the league's best linebacker tandem with Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw.
Continue reading our 2023 NFL Predictions: NFC West
2023 Fantasy Football Projections: San Francisco 49ers
Our Fantasy Football Projections will be viewable by both position and team.
Below you will find our 2023 fantasy football projections for the San Francisco 49ers.
MORE: Fantasy football projections for more NFL teams
QUARTERBACKS
Player | Att. | Comp. | Yards | TD | INT | Rush | Yards | TD | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brock Purdy | 485 | 325 | 3710.3 | 24.74 | 12.13 | 56.8 | 127.8 | 1.28 | 243.57 |
Sam Darnold | 39.3 | 24.2 | 288.9 | 1.79 | 1.1 | 11.4 | 41 | 0.23 | 22 |
Brock Purdy: Mr. Irrelevant is the term given to the final pick of each NFL draft, but Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, was anything but irrelevant in his rookie season. From December through his final snap of the playoffs, Purdy completed 151-of-224 pass attempts (67.4%) for 1,877 yards (8.38 Y/A), 16 touchdowns (7.1%) and only three interceptions (1.3%). There appear to be no lingering concerns following his offseason UCL surgery.
Sam Darnold: Excluding a terrible performance (2.8 passer rating) in 2022's season finale with the Panthers, Darnold was playing really well before that last year. In fact, he threw for 1,100 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception with a 105.4 passer rating in his other five games started last season while adding 74 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Since Kyle Shanahan took over in 2017, the 49ers rank second in the NFL in passing yards per attempt (7.4), per Stathead.
MORE: Continue reading our 2023 Fantasy Football Projections: San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers: 2023 NFL Schedule
Below you will find the weekly NFL regular-season schedule for the San Francisco 49ers in 2023.
MORE: 2023 NFL Strength of Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Time (ET) / Tickets |
---|---|---|---|
Week 1 | Sun., Sep. 10 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 30-7 |
Week 2 | Sun., Sep. 17 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 30-23 |
Week 3 | Thu., Sep. 21 | vs. New York Giants | W 30-12 |
Week 4 | Sun., Oct. 1 | vs. Arizona Cardinals | 4:25 PM / Tickets |
Week 5 | Sun., Oct. 8 | vs. Dallas Cowboys | 8:20 PM / Tickets |
Week 6 | Sun., Oct. 15 | at Cleveland Browns | 1:00 PM / Tickets |
Week 7 | Mon., Oct. 23 | at Minnesota Vikings | 8:15 PM / Tickets |
Week 8 | Sun., Oct. 29 | vs. Cincinnati Bengals | 4:25 PM / Tickets |
Week 9 | BYE | ||
Week 10 | Sun., Nov. 12 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | 1:00 PM / Tickets |
Week 11 | Sun., Nov. 19 | vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 4:05 PM / Tickets |
Week 12 | Thu., Nov. 23 | at Seattle Seahawks | 8:20 PM / Tickets |
Week 13 | Sun., Dec. 3 | at Philadelphia Eagles | 4:25 PM / Tickets |
Week 14 | Sun., Dec. 10 | vs. Seattle Seahawks | 4:05 PM / Tickets |
Week 15 | Sun., Dec. 17 | at Arizona Cardinals | 4:05 PM / Tickets |
Week 16 | Mon., Dec. 25 | vs. Baltimore Ravens | 8:15 PM / Tickets |
Week 17 | Sun., Dec. 31 | at Washington Commanders | 1:00 PM / Tickets |
Week 18 | Sun., Jan. 7 | vs. Los Angeles Rams | TBD / Tickets |
MORE: San Francisco 49ers historical W-L records - San Francisco 49ers historical head-to-head records
Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule (SOS)
How easy or difficult is the fantasy football schedule for San Francisco 49ers players?
Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule by position:
- Fantasy Football QB Strength of Schedule
- Fantasy Football RB Strength of Schedule
- Fantasy Football WR Strength of Schedule
- Fantasy Football TE Strength of Schedule
San Francisco 49ers Mock Draft Roundup 1.0
Throughout the year and leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, we will update our San Francisco 49ers Mock Draft Roundup showing picks for the San Francisco 49ers from several prominent sites and draft analysts.
The following are picks in recent mock drafts for the San Francisco 49ers:
EDSFootball - Kevin Hanson (5/9)
29. Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa
CBS Sports - Josh Edwards (5/8)
30. Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa
ESPN - Todd McShay (5/4)
31. Cooper Beebe, IOL, Kansas State
The Athletic - Dane Brugler (5/2)
29. Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona
MORE: Continue reading our 2024 San Francisco 49ers Mock Draft Roundup
San Francisco 49ers - 2023 Draft Results
The table below are all of the 2023 NFL Draft picks selected by the San Francisco 49ers.
Round | Overall | Player | Position | School |
---|---|---|---|---|
3 | 87 | Ji'Ayir Brown | S | Penn State |
3 | 99 | Jake Moody | K | Michigan |
3 | 101 | Cameron Latu | TE | Alabama |
5 | 155 | Darrell Luter Jr. | CB | South Alabama |
5 | 173 | Robert Beal Jr. | EDGE | Georgia |
6 | 216 | Dee Winters | LB | TCU |
7 | 247 | Brayden Willis | TE | Oklahoma |
7 | 253 | Ronnie Bell | WR | Michigan |
7 | 255 | Jalen Graham | LB | Purdue |
More: 2023 NFL Draft Results - San Francisco 49ers Draft History
More NFL Draft content:
- NFL Scouting Combine Results
- NFL Draft Big Board: Top 100 Prospects
- NFL Draft Prospect Rankings
- 2025 NFL Mock Draft
2023 NFL Power Rankings: San Francisco 49ers
Throughout the 2023 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.
Below you will find a Week 3 roundup for the San Francisco 49ers in our consensus 2023 NFL Power Rankings.
ESPN -- Rank: 1
Current contract situation: Under contract through the 2024 season
The Niners picked up Aiyuk's fifth-year option in May. The only first-round pick the Niners have signed to a second contract in the Kyle Shanahan/John Lynch era (since 2017) is defensive end Nick Bosa, waiting until after his fourth season to do it. The Niners would like to make Aiyuk the second. The question is whether they can afford to keep both Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel long term. Much of that will depend on whether Aiyuk can build off last year's breakthrough season, in which he surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the first time and led the team in receptions (78) while finishing second in touchdowns (eight). If he can, the cost to retain him will only increase. -- Nick Wagoner
NFL.com -- Rank: 1
Continue reading San Francisco 49ers NFL Power Rankings Roundup
More San Francisco 49ers pages:
- San Francisco 49ers Mock Draft Roundup
- San Francisco 49ers 2023 NFL Draft Grades
- San Francisco 49ers Draft History
- San Francisco 49ers NFL Power Rankings Roundup
- San Francisco 49ers Schedule
- San Francisco 49ers Tickets
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- 2024 NBA Mock Draft
- Fantasy Football Mock Draft
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- NFL Power Rankings
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