The 49ers Seem like a Lock to Make the Playoffs

Hard to envision them falling apart.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Almost every year, there is a list of playoff teams that do not get back the following year. The San Francisco 49ers will not be one of those teams, according to Kevin Patra of NFL Network. 

San Francisco is likely to get back to the NFL playoffs

Patra ranked the top eight teams that are expected to miss the playoffs after making it the year prior. He listed out eight teams and left off the San Francisco 49ers, meaning that he has them as one of the six teams most likely to return to the playoffs. 

The teams that were left off the list were the Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers, and Buffalo Bills. Obviously, the big surprise is that the Seattle Seahawks did make his list. 

They came in at number five as well, meaning that they almost expected to miss the playoffs. This is a bold call, but the Super Bowl hangover is also a real thing, and the Seahawks lost their offensive coordinator. They were a surprise team who got hot last year, and could surprise and fall back down again this year. 

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The biggest surprises are the Chargers and Texans, but the AFC is more wide open. Beyond that, the Texans' defense remains elite, and the Chargers added Mike McDaniel, which might unleash Justin Herbert. Still, there are easy stories to tell where both of these teams miss the playoffs. 

This is why the 49ers are correctly one of the six teams unlikely to miss out. It is hard to think of a scenario where they cannot overcome something and still have a chance. They lost Brock Purdy, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Mykel Williams, and more last year at certain times and found ways to win. 

Trent Williams might have been the one player that they could not afford to lose, and the team did well in adding depth behind him. That is the last reason the floor is so high. While some teams had risky offseasons, they had a high-floor offseason. They added depth across the board, and most of their draft picks were selected with the intention of being role players early in their NFL careers. 

So, the 49ers have found ways to win with the floor being lower, and they are much deeper this year. Whether they make a run is a question, but this team should make the playoffs.