Bold Predictions for 49ers' Individual Stat Leaders in 2023 NFL Season

The San Francisco 49ers are hoping to build on an NFC Championship Game appearance in 2022 as favorites to be right back in the mix during the 2023 season.

The 2022 season went about as well as anyone could have hoped. It was supposed to be the season that Trey Lance took over as the franchise quarterback. Instead, they discovered their future lies with a seventh-round draft pick who just about led the team to the Super Bowl in Brock Purdy.

Now, Lance is in Dallas. The team traded him for a Day 3 pick and will now rely on a talented roster to continue the success with Purdy under center.

Much of Purdy's success has to do with playing quarterback on one of the most talented rosters in the league. The Niners pair a deep group of offensive playmakers with some stars on defense that forms one of the most well-rounded rosters in the league.

There are sure to be several performers to stand out statistically this season. Here are some predictions for three of those stars on the Niners' team.

When healthy, Christian McCaffrey is one of the most dynamic playmakers in the NFL. He's lightning in a bottle with the ball in his hands and anyone who plays fantasy football knows how consistent he can be from week-to-week.

Last year he reminded the league of that fact. Despite being traded from Carolina to the Niners in the middle of the season he still ended up being third in the league in scrimmage yards with 1,880. Josh Jacobs led the way with 2,053.

While Jacobs missed most of training camp holding out for a new deal, McCaffrey had a full offseason to get more acquainted with the 49ers offense. Kyle Shanahan has also had all spring and summer to come up with new ways to utilize his versatile offensive weapon.

"OTAs were great, just to really understand the concepts and really, not just learn the running back position, but the whole offense, and understand timing with what the quarterback sees and what Kyle sees, and getting timing right with the O-line, and [FB Kyle Juszczyk], and the tight ends," McCaffrey told 104.5FM KNBR (h/t Garrett Podell of CBS Sports).

The key part of that quote is that McCaffrey isn't just learning the running back position. With Elijah Mitchell also in the backfield, the Niners are going to be free to unleash McCaffrey in a variety of ways and he's going to be even more difficult to defend.

Brandon Aiyuk emerged as the team's most reliable receiving option last season with 1,015 yards on 78 receptions. The next closest target was George Kittle, who returned to form with 765 yards and 11 touchdowns.

It's going to be hard for any of the receivers to hit the 1,000-yard milestone this season, despite being one of the most talented skill groups in the league.

There are simply too many mouths to feed and Purdy is due for some regression to the mean. His stretch of play as a rookie was not only unexpected, but probably unsustainable. In the five-game stretch to finish out the regular season he posted a QBR of 65.6.

Across the whole season, that would have placed fifth on the leaderboard behind Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts. None of those guys played that well as a rookie.

It stands to reason that Purdy could take a step back before hitting that level of play again.

The result is going to be some inconsistency in the passing game which will make it hard for each of those receivers to hit the 1,000-yard mark.

Throw in a healthy run rate with McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell in the backfield and it feels unlikely that any of the Niners receivers will be among the most productive receivers in the league.

Javon Hargrave may be new to the 49ers but we have a good idea of what he's going to bring to the table.

Last season, the Philadelphia Eagles had one of the most prolific pass rushes in NFL history. The record for sacks in a season belongs to the 1984 Chicago Bears with 72 and the Eagles racked up 70 (although they did have an extra game).

Hargrave was a big reason for that. He commanded double teams on a regular basis and still burned teams for 11 sacks on the season.

Chris Jones led all interior defenders with 15.5 sacks in the middle of the Chiefs defense. However, he's been involved in a holdout during camp and that raises questions about how he'll come out of the gates.

Meanwhile, Hargrave is still going to have enough talent with Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead that teams really can't double-team him that often. Unlike Philly, there won't be a lot of competition for who gets the sack.

Finding another edge rusher to play across from Bosa is one of their most important tasks this season. Samson Ebukam and Charles Omenihu, who combined for 9.5 sacks, both left in free agency this season.

That leaves a big void for Hargrave to fill. Expect him to rack up sacks at an alarming rate this season.