49ers Injuries Force Slide in 'Playmaker' Group Rankings

The San Francisco 49ers have proved that they are as strong Super Bowl contenders as anybody in the NFL when they're healthy.

Unfortunately, they didn't had that type of luck last season.

In 2024, the Niners came into the season with the No. 1 ranked collective running back, wide receiver and tight end group in the NFL. It was their second straight year with the top offensive firepower rank.

Now after a 6-11 season that was ravaged by unavailability, the 49ers have seen a slide down this year's rankings.

ESPN believes San Francisco's depth is still strong enough to warrant a top-five playmaking unit. They rank fourth on this year's list.

The ranking focuses most on predicting on-field performance, but also takes injury concern into account.

"The back-to-back playmaker champs have fallen off their pedestal, with injuries as the primary cause," Bill Barnwell said. "Brandon Aiyuk will be returning from a torn ACL. Christian McCaffrey was limited last season to four games by Achilles and knee injuries."

Aiyuk suffered his season-ending injury in Week 7 of last season. He was present at the 49ers' organized team activities earlier this offseason, but remains a non-participant. The former All-Pro is expected to start the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. That will force him to sit for at least the first four games of this upcoming season.

McCaffrey will reportedly enter training camp back at full strength after a long offseason of rehab. He has been nothing short of spectacular in his time on the field for the 49ers, but his injury history is worthy of hesitancy when forecasting a new season.

"... He has now missed significant time in three of his seven seasons as a starting NFL running back. It's impossible to project injuries, but it's unrealistic to treat McCaffrey as a 17-game starter for the purpose of these rankings," Barnwell admitted.

Thankfully Kyle Shanahan's offense has seen consistency from their star tight end. George Kittle is poised to continue his excellent career after a team-high 1,106-yard season.

A shakeup to the receiver room came when San Francisco traded veteran utility man Deebo Samuel Sr. to the Washington Commanders to free up cap space. He was replaced by a relative downgrade in Demarcus Robinson.

Last year was a breakout season for fourth-year receiver Jauan Jennings with career-highs in receptions (77), yards (975) and touchdowns (6). "He's not Samuel in terms of working after the catch, but Jennings was tough to bring down and willing to make catches in tight quarters, which led to him finishing 12th in ESPN's receiver score this past season," Barnwell said.

If Jennings can pick up where he left off amid Aiyuk absence, the 49ers will be fortunate to still have a reliable deep threat to take the top off of the defense.

Young receiver Ricky Pearsall has put a rollercoaster rookie season behind him and is also prepared to make a greater impact this season with more pass-catching opportunities available early in the year.

Barnwell added: "It's always going to be tough to attract a lofty target share with so many mouths to feed, but if Pearsall can emerge as a legitimate starting wideout, the 49ers will have a strong case to head back up to the top of these rankings in 2026."

If the Niners' playmakers can stay healthy at least until Aiyuk returns near the midway point, quarterback Brock Purdy will have plenty of weapons necessary to bounce back and return to contention in the NFC.