With the 2025 NFL season officially in the books and the Seattle Seahawks celebrating at Levi’s Stadium with a Super Bowl win, the legal tampering period for free agents is exactly one month away. The San Francisco 49ers head into the offseason following a 12-win season, which came against all odds with all the roster turnover and injuries. A playoff victory over Philadelphia is a very nice season, but the loss to the Seahawks in the divisional round highlighted the difference between the two teams moving forward.
Seattle is young and should be in contention for a Lombardi year in and out, but the 49ers are in a bit of a transitional period heading into 2026. The Rams will be involved as long as Matthew Stafford continues to start games for them, and they are in a similar boat, but have younger cornerstone pieces like Puka Nacua and Byron Young.
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The 49ers’ group of cornerstone players is aging out. Trent Williams will return, but is nearing 40; George Kittle suffered an Achilles injury at the age of 33; Christian McCaffrey turned in a renaissance season; and Kyle Juszczyk is longer in the tooth. Fred Warner and Nick Bosa will lead the new group with Brock Purdy. But realistically (barring player development), the 49ers have Purdy and Deommodore Lenoir to count on moving forward.
The defensive line will return the former 11th pick in Mykel Williams and Alfred Collins, with C.J. West, but they are projects as of now. At wide receiver, Ricky Pearsall has yet to prove he can make it through an entire season with Brandon Aiyuk on the way out and possibly Jauan Jennings.
Nick Wagoner of ESPN feels the same way, as the 49ers were ranked number six in the way-too-early Power Rankings for 2026.
The 49ers reporter chose “the new nucleus” as his three words to describe the 49ers’ offseason.
The 49ers exceeded expectations by finishing 12-5 and winning a road playoff game after a massive roster overhaul and a series of devastating injuries. Given how 2025 went, it’s time for them to go hunting for more star power. Only quarterback Brock Purdy and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir have established themselves as part of the next foundation, which means it’s on the Niners to find more — whether by draft, trade or signing — to sustain success. The pass rush and receiver groups, in particular, need significant attention.
This draft will be imperative for not just contributors but the future anchors of the team moving forward. Seattle has proven how one or two drafts can alter a team’s trajectory. The 49ers need to get younger, but their draft picks have to be “dudes.”
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