You won’t be surprised where Bleacher Report placed the 49ers in the latest power rankings

Bleacher Report’s pre-training camp NFL power rankings put the 49ers in a familiar position with the 2024 season fast approaching.

The San Francisco 49ers are as balanced a team as they come heading into 2024, and it seems the rest of the NFL world knows it.

But should they be ranked No. 1 in the NFL power rankings?

That’s up for debate, though one could make the counterargument that until head coach Kyle Shanahan’s team earns a Super Bowl victory, earning the No. 1 spot in any offseason power rankings will simply be out of reach.

Still, the Niners are poised to back up last year’s NFC title with a roster that remains largely intact, though they’ve had notable issues trying to extend their top receiver of the past two seasons, Brandon Aiyuk, who recently requested a trade but is still employed by an organization that reportedly has little desire to honor his request.

San Francisco is expected to be at the top of any team’s NFL power rankings heading into training camp, and the folks at Bleacher Report just came up with theirs.

You won’t be surprised where the 49ers landed.

Two of the top four teams in B/R’s latest rankings are from the NFC, the Niners and the team they beat in January’s NFC Championship Game, the Detroit Lions.

The top spot is no surprise, as it goes to the team that went on to eliminate San Francisco in the Super Bowl last February, the Kansas City Chiefs, while Detroit came in third and the Houston Texans came in fourth.

The 49ers, meanwhile, are ranked second:

“The 49ers are as talented and balanced as any team in the league. They’re a team without a glaring weakness. And they have to be considered the NFC favorite (again).”

Certainly, B/R underscored the difficulty Super Bowl losers faced the following season, at least in terms of returning to the big game and finally winning it.

However, barring a series of injuries similar to those they suffered in 2020 after their first Super Bowl loss to KC, the Niners remain as complete a team as they come and face very few looming questions that could potentially derail their 2024 campaign.

Unless, of course, the Aiyuk saga somehow spills over to the rest of the locker room, creating an unnecessary distraction.

Still, San Francisco has enough weapons on both sides of the ball to be legitimately favored in nearly every contest it hosts next season, including what will hopefully be a long trip to the playoffs.

And, if luck runs its course, a Super Bowl victory and that coveted No. 1 spot in any offseason power rankings.

Read more about Niner Noise