SANTA CLARA – With the start of training camp, the San Francisco 49ers are primed to make a return to the post-season, thanks to Colin Kaepernick, Frank Gore, Patrick Willis and Vernon Davis.
Here are five reasons why the Niners will win the NFC West in 2014.
5. Quality Drafting Will Pay Off – There’s a reason the 49ers have been so successful over the past three years. Outstanding drafting has equipped San Francisco with championship-caliber talent. During the past two drafts, GM Trent Baalke has acquired incredible value with nearly every pick. With a almost complete roster, simply stockpiling talent, regardless of position, has been the front office’s aim.
The rich get richer in 2014.
4. Deep WR Corps Will Make 49ers More Dangerous Through Air – The 49ers are a run-first team. With a deep backfield, a talented offensive line and a highly athletic quarterback in Kaepernick, that won’t change in 2014. But an upgraded wide receiver corps should make San Francisco more explosive. Michael Crabtree is healthy after missing 11 games in 2013, while Stevie Johnson and Bruce Ellington should add a new dynamic to the group.
Expect the 49ers to fare better than their second-worst league ranking of 30th.
3. 49ers Will Have Deepest RB Stable In NFL – In addition to improving their depth at receiver, the 49ers will be getting a boost at running back in 2014. Gore is on the verge of decline, but the addition of Carlos Hyde in the draft and the emergence of Marcus Lattimore, a 2013 draft pick, who redshirted his rookie season, will pick up the slack.
Throw in Kendall Hunter, a productive runner and reliable pass protector, into the mix, and the 49ers have a supremely deep backfield.
2. 49ers Are The Hungriest Team In Division – It’s impossible to predict how the Seattle Seahawks, the reigning NFC West and Super Bowl champions, will respond to capturing the franchise’s first title, but the 49ers, after losing two conference championship games and one Super Bowl over the past three seasons, are undoubtedly the hungriest team in the NFL’s best division.
Falling just short of the league’s ultimate prize three consecutive years has had to intensify said wish.
1. 49ers Are The Most Talented Team In NFL – Hunger can only go so far. At the end of the day, winning still comes down to talent, and one could make the case, after yet another off-season of stockpiling ammo, that the 49ers are the NFL’s most talented and deep team from top to bottom. The trench play is there. The playmakers are there.
One of the league’s most dynamic quarterbacks is there too. It will pay off with a division crown in 2014.
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