San Francisco 49ers 2026 preview: Kyle Shanahan's squad enters the season as NFC contenders

• Mike Evans headlines the offseason: San Francisco added the veteran wide receiver to strengthen an already talented offense.

• Brock Purdy keeps the window open: The quarterback has earned a PFF passing grade above 75.0 in each of his four NFL seasons.

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The San Francisco 49ers went 12-5 in 2025, finishing third in the NFC West and earning the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs. They opened the postseason with a road win over the Philadelphia Eagles before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round. Kyle Shanahan has turned the 49ers into one of the NFL's perennial contenders, but after repeatedly coming up just short of a championship, they'll be hoping 2026 is finally the year they break through.

Here is our 2026 preview of the San Francisco 49ers.

Key Free Agency/Trade Additions

Mike Evans turns 33 later this month and missed significant time in 2025, but he's also just one season removed from one of the best years of his career. In 2024, he earned a 90.2 PFF receiving grade, the second-highest mark of his career, and averaged a career-best 2.52 yards per route run. There's risk involved, as there's no guarantee he replicates that level of play in San Francisco, but the potential reward makes it a worthwhile gamble.

On defense, the return of Dre Greenlaw alongside Fred Warner at linebacker could be just as important. Greenlaw played only 386 snaps with the Denver Broncos last season but still earned a 76.1 PFF grade. Since 2022, he has earned a PFF grade above 70.0 in each season in which he has played at least 350 snaps. The 49ers don't need him to be elite with Warner beside him, but if he can stay healthy, his run defense and reliable tackling will be a major boost.

2026 NFL Draft Class

The 49ers added depth along the defensive line in the draft, starting with Texas Tech edge defender Romello Height. He may be undersized, but he is coming off a dominant season in which he earned a 92.6 PFF pass-rush grade and generated 62 pressures, including 20 sacks and quarterback hits, on 350 pass-rushing snaps.

Oklahoma defensive tackle Gracen Halton was a fourth-round pick and brings value both as a pass-rusher and against the run. He earned a 76.9 PFF pass-rush grade after generating 30 pressures on 259 pass-rushing snaps in 2025. He was even better against the run, earning a career-high 87.5 PFF run-defense grade in his final season at Oklahoma.

Reasons for optimism

Brock Purdy has been in the NFL for four seasons and has earned a PFF passing grade above 75.0 in each of them. While he is not quite in the league's elite tier at quarterback, we've already seen that his level of play is good enough to lead the 49ers to a Super Bowl. Surrounded by this roster and operating in Kyle Shanahan's offense, Purdy gives San Francisco everything it needs to remain a legitimate contender. Ideally, he'll rediscover the playmaking he showed in 2023, when his 5.5% big-time throw rate set a career high.

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Reason for pessimism

The 49ers need much more from their first- and second-round picks on the defensive line this season. Mykel Williams played just 385 snaps before suffering a season-ending injury, earning a 54.7 PFF grade and generating only 19 pressures on 245 pass-rushing snaps. Alfred Collins stayed healthy and logged 550 snaps, but his 35.0 PFF grade was tied for the second-lowest among the 94 interior defenders who played at least 300 snaps.

San Francisco still has plenty of talent on defense, but not enough to absorb misses on premium draft picks along the defensive line. Both Williams and Collins will be expected to take significant steps forward in 2026.

Breakout Candidate

Dominick Puni impressed at right guard as a rookie in 2024, earning an 80.5 PFF grade that ranked sixth among qualified guards. He took a slight step back in 2025, with his 69.2 PFF grade ranking 27th at the position. Even with that regression, Puni has already put together two seasons as an above-average starter. Entering his third NFL season, he has a chance to establish himself as a top-15 guard before heading into a contract year in 2027.

Key roster battles

Christian McCaffrey is now 30 years old, making a capable backup more important than ever. Jordan James saw just six carries as a rookie, all of them coming in the playoff loss to Seattle. He averaged 4.7 yards per carry in that limited opportunity, but it's far too small a sample to draw any meaningful conclusions.

The 49ers also drafted Kaelon Black in the third round after he put together two productive seasons at Indiana following four years at James Madison. He averaged 5.3 yards per carry across his college career, with 3.4 of those yards coming after contact. Another name to watch is Isaac Guerendo. He didn't play in 2025, but he flashed as a rookie in 2024, ripping off nine runs of 10 or more yards on just 84 carries.