The 49ers entered 2025 with warranted Super Bowl aspirations, won at least 12 games for the fourth time in seven years, ate a playoff W in Philadelphia … and ultimately fizzled out against the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks in the Divisional Round. Of course, injuries played a MAJOR role all season long, as this defense was without franchise cornerstones Nick Bosa (14 missed games) and Fred Warner (11) for most of the year.

• 2025: 12-5 (+66 point differential, preseason win total: 10.5)
• Points per game: 25.7 (10th)
• EPA per pass: +0.18 (6th)
• EPA per rush: -0.03 (10th)
• Points per game against: 21.8 (13th)
• EPA per pass against: +0.15 (25th)
• EPA per rush against: -0.07 (17th)

The good news is that San Fran returns the bulk of a roster that has looked capable of operating at an elite level when fully healthy in recent seasons, and they have the league's 12th-most effective cap space to work with. The bad news is that some of the team's longtime key players, like Trent Williams (38 in July), George Kittle (33 in October, coming off a torn Achilles) and Christian McCaffrey (30 in June), are getting older and not guaranteed to still have their best days ahead.

What Do The San Francisco 49ers Need To Address In The 2026 Offseason?

Need 1: Wide Receiver

What was recently a massive strength is anything but:

• General Manager John Lynch said, "It's safe to say Brandon Aiyuk has played his last snap as a 49er."
• Jauan Jennings is an unrestricted free agent looking to cash in after strong 77-975-6 and 55-643-9 campaigns during the last two seasons.
• Kendrick Bourne is also hitting free agency. While Bourne was an afterthought down the stretch, he did post back-to-back 142-yard games in Weeks 5-6!

Ricky Pearsall has flashed marvelous route-running ability at times, but has only been healthy enough to suit up for 20 of 34 regular-season games over the past two seasons. Throw in the potential for George Kittle to not be operating at 100% coming off his Achilles tear, and more high-end pass-catching talent NEEDS to be added here.

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Need 2: Secondary

San Francisco boasts the league's eighth-cheapest safety room and seventh least-expensive crop of corners entering 2026. This isn't a massive problem in and of itself, but the group's performance last season was not great:

• 6.5 net yards allowed per pass attempt (24th)
• 49.5 team PFF coverage grade (tied for 24th)
• 100.5 passer rating allowed (27th)
• 84 explosive pass plays allowed (23rd)

The team used top-100 draft capital on defensive backs Upton Stout, Renardo Green and Ji'Ayir Brown over the past three drafts, but none managed to rank among PFF's top-100 defensive backs in coverage last season among 157 qualified corners and safeties. It'll be especially important to find superior talent in the secondary with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh out of the picture.

Need 3: Defensive Line

The defensive line has a litany of linemen hitting the open market, including EDGE Sam Okuayinonu (RFA), DT Kalia Davis (RFA) and Jordan Elliott—three of the team's top-six free agents in terms of 2025 snap rate.

Now, getting Nick Bosa and 2025 first-rounder Mykel Williams healthy will certainly help matters; just realize the interior group in particular is awfully short on high-end investment. Overall, the 49ers join the Chargers as the only two defenses in the league with under $5 million devoted to their interior defensive linemen ahead of 2026.

Honorable Mention

The offensive line ended 2025 ranked as PFF's fifth-best group in the league, but longtime All-World LT Trent Williams will be 38 by next season. A long-term investment is needed sooner rather than later, especially with the 49ers only having spent two draft picks inside Rounds 1-3 on the offensive line during the last five drafts combined.

If I Were The GM …

I'd draft a first-round wide receiver for the second time in three drafts. The dream would be USC WR Makai Lemon, but expecting him to be available at pick No. 27 could be wishful thinking. Texas A&M WR KC Concepcion and Washington WR Denzel Boston are more realistic targets at the back of Round 1. Concepcion, in particular, feels like a nice fit thanks to his ability to rack up production after the catch, something that was badly missing from this offense without Deebo Samuel in 2025.

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