The 49ers kick off the regular season in prime time on Monday, September 9, facing the New York Jets at Levi's Stadium as they begin their latest push for the title.
What does the national media think about the 49ers' chances compared to the rest of the league? Below is a sample of some of the most prominent power rankings from around the web, showing where San Francisco currently stands in each. The highest rankings are listed first.
ESPN
Ranking: 1
"The defending NFC champion 49ers enter 2024 with top-five units on both sides of the ball, and once Trent Williams suits up, they will be without a major concern area across the roster. This could be the year for Kyle Shanahan & Co." — Mike Clay
NFL.com
Ranking: 2
"The Brandon Aiyuk drama finally concluded last week with a four-year, $120 million extension, and now Trent Williams appears to be ending his holdout and finalizing a new deal with the 49ers. Two massive developments for the reigning NFC champions. Unfortunately, the franchise also experienced a frightening ordeal over the weekend: Rookie WR Ricky Pearsall was the victim of a shooting in an attempted robbery and the first-round pick will miss at least the first four games of the season. The offense returns the vast majority of a terrific group from last season, but the overall depth of this team still worries me. A rash of injuries would probably be the most likely thing to knock San Francisco off track, but a middling offensive line is another potential Achilles' heel. I have a lot of faith in this operation, with Kyle Shanahan leading the Niners to the playoffs in four out of the past five years, but there are some underlying concerns that can't yet be dismissed." — Eric Edholm
Sporting News
Ranking: 2
"The 49ers are battling a few contract questions with Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk now (Update: Both situations have been resolved), and Brock Purdy lingering as a massive one just around the corner in 2025. But the loaded offense around Christian McCaffrey still looks intact, while the defense should get more dangerous with improved health and key reinforcements." — Vinnie Iyer
Bleacher Report
Ranking: 3
"For the second time in five years, the San Francisco 49ers made it all the way to the Super Bowl last year. And for the second time in five years, the Niners came up short against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. That the 49ers are loaded with talent on both sides of the ball is hardly a secret. Running back Christian McCaffrey. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Left Tackle Trent Williams. Edge-rusher Nick Bosa. Linebacker Fred Warner. That San Francisco found a Super Bowl quarterback in Brock Purdy with the last pick in the NFL draft is just...ridiculous. ... From 1 to 53, the 49ers may well be the most talented and balanced roster in the entire NFL. There aren't any glaring weaknesses. But teams like the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles aren't far behind, and San Francisco's last championship came when Bill Clinton was president. The 49ers may be the favorites in the eyes of some in the NFC. But they aren't overwhelming favorites—or the highest-ranked NFC team here." — NFL Staff
CBS Sports
Ranking: 3
"Getting receiver Brandon Aiyuk signed to a long-term deal was a good move. The roster is still loaded and Kyle Shanahan remains one of the league's best coaches." — Pete Prisco
Yahoo! Sports
Ranking: 3
"The 49ers used the Steelers. Pittsburgh presumably came into Brandon Aiyuk trade talks with the 49ers with genuine intentions of doing a deal, but it became clear as the drama dragged on that the 49ers didn't. They just wanted another team to set the market. The end justifies the means apparently because San Francisco got its star receiver back on a deal worth $30 million a year." — Frank Schwab
Pro Football Talk
Ranking: 4
"Contracts issues resolved, let's see how quickly they can get their holdout and hold-in up to speed." — Mike Florio
The Athletic
Ranking: 5
"There were a couple of Mad Men in the Bay Area this season. (I'm sorry, honestly.) Neither Brandon Aiyuk, No. 2 in the NFL in EPA per target last year (.71), nor Trent Williams, the best offensive tackle in the game, took a training camp practice snap because of contract consternation. Aiyuk finally got his deal, but Williams remains AWOL on game week (Update: The holdout has ended). Plus do-it-all running back Christian McCaffrey hasn't practiced since early August after straining his calf. The reigning offensive player of the year doesn't need the practice reps, but he does need to be healthy, and calf strains are ominous." — Josh Kendall
The Ringer
Ranking: 5
"Receiver Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers finally came to an agreement on a four-year, $120 million extension, bringing the most exhausting story line of training camp to a merciful ending. ... A playmaking corps of Aiyuk, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, and Deebo Samuel is still very difficult to defend, and the defense still has two of the NFL's ten best defensive players in Nick Bosa and Fred Warner. It feels like fait accompli for this team to win the NFC West going away and finish with no worse than the no. 3 in the conference. Still, I have them outside of my top three, because roster attrition and emotional fatigue is real. Joint practices were canceled in training camp because of injuries, and this team doesn't have anywhere near the same kind of depth it did in years past. The chances of this team making another run to the Super Bowl feels just as likely as this team running out of gas after Thanksgiving. You can only operate at a white-knuckle pace for so long." — Diante Lee
USA Today
Ranking: 5
"The reigning NFC champs arguably own the league's best top-to-bottom roster. However despite their recently resolved business with WR Brandon Aiyuk and, now, All-Pro LT Trent Williams – arguably the club's top player – neither has practiced in months, and (consequently?) the first-team offense hardly looked to be in sync during preseason auditions. There are also a fair amount of injuries (S Talanoa Hufanga, LB Dre Greenlaw, G Jon Feliciano, CB Ambry Thomas) that are going to linger for some time – and that's on top of first-round WR Ricky Pearsall getting shot Saturday. Don't be surprised if the Niners get off to a rocky start." — Nate Davis
Sports Illustrated
Ranking: 6
"We try to shy away from the narrative here, but it's hard not to slightly downgrade a team that just lost the Super Bowl in heartbreaking fashion and then went for more of a budget-conscious route to free agency the following year to mitigate what will be an astronomical deal for a quarterback they may not be 100% sure on while also pacifying two very unhappy and critical players under contract. The 49ers will still win games with that almost automatic precision, but it's also fair to wonder if they will also have some prolonged periods of struggling or, at the very least, trying to survive with a roster that is aging and a league that is catching up to what they do best." — Conor Orr
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