The San Francisco 49ers replaced defensive coordinator Robert Saleh with former Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, and made several changes to their roster after failing to make it out of the divisional round last year.
With all of these changes, the 49ers have a much better roster as they prepare for training camp than they did when their 2025 campaign ended in the postseason.
However, ESPN recently ranked San Francisco’s starting lineup as the 11th-best in the league. Here’s who they included in the starting lineup:
QB Brock PurdyRB Christian McCaffreyFB Kyle JuszczykWR Mike EvansWR Ricky PearsallWR Christian KirkTE George KittleLT Trent WilliamsLG Robert JonesC Jake BrendelRG Dominick PuniRT Colton McKivitzDL Osa OdighizuwaDL Alfred CollinsDL C.J. WestEDGE Nick BosaEDGE Mykel WilliamsLB Fred WarnerLB Dre GreenlawCB Deommodore LenoirCB Renardo GreenCB Upton StoutS Malik MustaphaS Ji’Ayir Brown
The starting lineups that ESPN ranked above the 49ers are the Green Bay Packers (No. 10), Houston Texans (No. 9), Denver Broncos (No. 8), New England Patriots (No. 7), Detroit Lions (No. 6), Baltimore Ravens (No. 5), Buffalo Bills (No. 4), Seattle Seahawks (No. 3), Philadelphia Eagles (No. 2) and Los Angeles Rams (No. 1).
An argument could be made that the 49ers should move up this list, and San Francisco will have a chance to prove themselves this year.
More 49ers: 49ers receive mediocre grades for their offseason changes
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: ESPN ranks 49ers starting lineup surprisingly low before training camp
Reporting by Mike Masala, Niners Wire / Niners Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect