The San Francisco 49ers will understandably be irritated by being 0-5, but in terms of their rebuild, this season is going exactly to plan.
There has been plenty of agony in the first five games of the season for the San Francisco 49ers, but their short-term pain could well result in long-term gain for the franchise. Since being beaten 23-3 in their opener by Carolina Panthers, the Niners have lost the last four games by a combined 11 points. That includes successive defeats to the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts coming in overtime.
San Francisco has been extremely competitive, but remains winless and, with tough games ahead against the Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, it is fair to wonder where the Niners’ first win is coming from.
The 49ers still have plenty of opportunities to ensure they do not end 2017 without a win, but while there is little fun about being an 0-5 team, there is a strong argument that this campaign is actually playing out perfectly for San Francisco. Though the Niners are improved, they are far from a couple of players away from being a playoff contender and need to fill this roster with as many top prospects as they can get.
They possess five picks in the first three rounds of the 2018 draft and those selections are poised to be high ones should their current run of form continue. What the 49ers are doing is not tanking. To the contrary, they are putting a lot of concerted effort into trying to win a game, but by developing their young players by using them in key situations in close games, they are inadvertently setting themselves up superbly for the future with what so far stands as the most brilliant of lost seasons.
More from San Francisco 49ers
- 49ers 7th-round pick turning out to be an absolute NFL Draft steal
- San Francisco 49ers almost did the unthinkable in 2022
- 3 reasons why Trey Lance could be labeled a bust after 2023
- The San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback situation is exhausting
- Sam Darnold could be the diamond in the rough for the 49ers
Having high draft picks is only a good thing if you use them wisely, but the new 49ers regime’s 2017 effort is already beginning to look impressive.
Third overall pick Solomon Thomas has a sack to his name and has been very impressive against the run and, though their second first-round pick Reuben Foster was injured in the opener, he showed enough to suggest the 49ers were right to trade back up to go get him.
Third-round pick C.J. Beathard was good enough in preseason for the team to be comfortable cutting Matt Barkley and going with him as the backup quarterback, while fifth-round picks Trent Taylor and George Kittle have quickly become key players in the offense, as has undrafted free agent running back Matt Breida.
This is a team that has shown flashes of promise on both sides of the ball and the improvements they have made, in areas such as run defense — where the 49ers ranked bottom of the league last year — are obvious. The fact those strides have not been reflected in wins does not matter that much at this point.
Next: NFL 2017: 20 Bold predictions for Week 6
San Francisco has plenty of holes on their roster to fill, with the most pressing being at quarterback. The 49ers obviously do not want to go 0-16. However, by being competitive but continuing to lose, they have put themselves in a strong spot to acquire one of the coming draft’s top passers and pick at the high end of every round.
And, for a team still a couple of seasons away from contention, that is well worth the heartbreak of their recent gut-wrenching defeats.