George Kittle on 49ers in 2025: 'We have pretty lofty expectations'
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Best NFC 2025 NFL Draft picks
USA TODAY's Tyler Dragon breaks down which teams in the NFC drafted the best this year.
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Few teams underwent more changes this offseason than the San Francisco 49ers.
Just 16 months removed from their second Super Bowl appearance in five years, the 49ers enter the 2025 NFL season with new coordinators on offense, defense and special teams. Technically, two of those coordinators are familiar faces. Robert Saleh returns to the defensive coordinator post he held from 2017 to 2020 and Klay Kubiak has been promoted to offensive coordinator after four years as an assistant.
The roster saw some longtime starters depart via free agency. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw, cornerback Charvarius Ward and guard Aaron Banks are all suiting up elsewhere. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel is now in Washington thanks to a trade.
San Francisco invested heavily in defense in the 2025 NFL Draft in an attempt to bounce back from a lackluster year in 2024 on that side of the ball.
One of the team's stars thinks they'll be back on track in 2025.
"We lost some guys and that is obvious, we're aware of that," tight end George Kittle said on CBS Sports HQ on June 16. "But I feel like the way we signed guys in free agency, the way that we drafted, we targeted those holes that we lost.
"I'm not going to say we're going to replace All-Pro players, Pro Bowl players immediately but I think we drafted really, really well."
He pointed to the near-perfect attendance in organized team activities (OTAs), a voluntary portion of the offseason schedule, as a sign of the commitment from the team.
"You get to build that team chemistry." he said. "I think what our goal is is our offense needs to play at a really high level. We brought back basically everybody, which is pretty fun, and when you have Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy, Trent Williams, makes me pretty excited to play football."
This isn't entirely unfamiliar territory for the franchise. In 2020, San Francisco suffered multiple key injuries and followed their Super Bowl trip with a 6-10 campaign only to go 10-7 in 2021 and make the NFC championship game once again.
"We know we have pretty lofty expectations, we always do," Kittle said. "The way that we do training camp, I think coach (Kyle) Shanahan will have those young guys ready to go real quick."
49ers 2025 schedule
Another factor that could help the 49ers in 2025 is their schedule. By 2024 winning percentage, San Francisco will face the easiest strength of schedule in the NFL in 2025. Here's a breakdown of their full 18-week schedule:
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