Super Bowl Squads 2019 Vs 2023

Same

TE George Kittle

2019 Kittle and 2023 Kittle are very similar in skill and production. In 2019 he had 1053 yards and 5 touchdowns, while in 2023 he came remarkably close with 1020 yards and 6 touchdowns. Both years he made the Pro Bowl and All-Pro first team, the only two times he ever made the first team. Amongst many ups and downs, George Kittle has been the most consistent piece for the 49ers.

FB Kyle Juszczyk

Kyle Juszczyk has also been a reliable cog in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, playing an important role in his blocking versatility. And occasionally, he can take the handoff for a couple of yards or catch for a well needed 1st down. 

P Mitch Wishnowsky

Blond haired beauty Mitch Wishnowsky was just a rookie, but he continues to pin the opposing offense deep in their own territory. Arguably he should have made an All-Pro team, but it is tough to recognize punters.

DT Arik Armstead

Arik Armstead had his breakout year in 2019, recording 10 sacks after just 3 sacks previously. Since then he has been the ultimate run stopper that anyone would ask for, while also providing impressive pass rushing. He had more of a down year due to injury, but the pass rushing and the key run stopping remain there and extremely vital. 

Improvements

WR Deebo Samuel

Deebo Samuel was just a rookie in 2019, but it was clear Kyle Shanahan found his versatility and talent intriguing. He recorded 802 yards over the season, but really came into play in the Super Bowl. He had the most total yards of any 49er, with 92 yards. Since then Deebo has arguably been the most important 49er in the offense over the years leading up to now. This year he had over a thousand total yards even with missing three games, with 1117 yards. His best year came in 2021, where he had one of the greatest carry jobs of any receiver in history. He had 1405 receiving yards, while somehow rushing for 365 yards. The 49er offense that year was truly incompetent, with a miracle run in the playoffs executed only because of Deebo. 

LB Core (Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw)

Both Dre Greenlaw and Fred Warner were young defenders on the biggest stage in sports, and now have developed into the best LB core in the league. Fred has always played at an impressively high level, and recently been garnering the awards with 3x First Team All Pro selections. But Dre Greenlaw has really come into his own, garnering a hard hitting reputation and becoming a threat down the middle. Warner and Greenlaw have really stepped into their own character and leadership, with Fred developing as the leader of this defense and Greenlaw as the enforcer. 

DE Nick Bosa

Of every returning 49er from Super Bowl 54, Nick Bosa may have had the greatest improvement of all, and he even won Defensive Rookie of the Year with 9.0 sacks. Yet, in his best season so far he's had over twice that number at 18.5 sacks, winning Defensive Player of the Year. Apart from an injury stricken season in 2020, he has been a continuous dominant force on the edge. He leads a pass rush that has often ranked at the top of metrics for many years. Nick Bosa did not get as many sacks as years past. But don’t let that distract you from the impact he still has, as he is still 5th in QB pressures. He had an incredible performance last Super Bowl. Bosa had a sack, forced fumble, 1 QB hit, and 12 pressures. Bosa has been racking in the accolades, but let’s hope he can get the big one. 

Change

Defensive Line

Talent and money wise both sides should be equal, if not the 2023 players being better. But they have heavily underperformed under many’s expectations. The 2019 squad was the heart of that defense, pressuring quarterbacks instantly and racking up sacks every game. In the playoffs they had 13 total sacks, while currently they have just 2 (both by Nick Bosa). Unless they get 11 sacks, breaking the shared record of 9 sacks in a playoff game, it is clear the 2019 D-Line was much more productive. Chase Young and Hargrave have to be more consistent as DeForest Buckner and Dee Ford were, else Mahomes might have all the time in the world to throw. Clearly the 49ers D-Line in 2019 was much more productive than today’s squad. 

Secondary

A secondary of future HOF Richard Sherman and 49er veteran Jimmie Ward should be miles ahead of a young 2023 secondary without 1st Team All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga, but they surprisingly match well in production. Off contributions from All-Pro corner Charvarius Ward and rookie Ji’Ayir Brown, the 2023 49ers were tied for most interceptions at 22, while the 2019 squad had just 12. But obviously secondaries aren’t just interceptions, and through the year there have been inconsistencies in coverage. The 2019 squad was filled with veterans that were reliable in preventing major breakdowns. Both secondaries struggle mightily with covering the run despite somewhat strong defensive lines, where the 2019 squad let 4.5 YPC and 2023 let 4.1 YPC. But because this year’s defense is more reliant on the secondary than the 2019 squad was, they are a slightly improved unit. 

QB

Jimmy Garappolo’s years before his injuries were underrated, he really elevated a Niners team that struggled to have any consistency. He nearly hit the 4000 yard mark in 2019, with 3978 yards and 27 touchdowns. But there really is no denying Brock Purdy is the better quarterback. Even watching the games, it was clear Jimmy Garappolo had a very specific job: getting it out quickly to his weapons. If the play wasn’t there, there was a high chance that he got sacked or threw an interception. Meanwhile Brock Purdy had 4280 passing yards and 31 touchdowns, making all time 49er records for both categories. As I have talked about it in my previous blog, The Case for NFL MVP: Brock Purdy, Kyle Shanahan gave Brock Purdy full control over the offense, letting him make throws often deep down the field. Even when the play broke down, Purdy could scramble away and make the tough throw or run for a first down. Brock Purdy gives the edge in quarterback for the 2023 49ers. 

Offensive Line

It’s tough to say which Offensive Line is better, since both aren’t overly impressive. Though Trent Williams is a HOF left tackle and better than an older Joe Staley, the rest of the O-Line is pretty bad. According to PFF, the 2019 49ers O-Line ranked 14th in the league where in 2023 they ranked 20th. The more spread out consistency of the 2019 O-Line barely makes them better than the Trent Williams anchored 2023 O-Line. 

WR

This one is very obvious who is better. Sanders was clutch for the 49ers, but he only had 502 receiving yards and just 3 touchdowns in the regular season. Meanwhile Aiyuk has really grown into his own over the past couple of years, having two straight seasons of 1000 receiving yards. And this season he had more than twice the amount of yards and touchdowns that Sanders had, at 1342 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns. Brandon Aiyuk made the All-Pro second team, a lot better than Sanders can say. I would say Aiyuk is the better WR2, but he really is more like 1A or 1B to Deebo Samuel. 

RB

Kyle Shanahan has always been known to get production out of any RB he can find, and 2019 may have been the prime example of this. The three headed monster ensured that everyone stayed fresh down the stretch, while defenses eventually tired out having to tackle so many elusive running backs. Combined those three had 1939 rushing yards and 22 total touchdowns. Raheem Mostert was the most deadly of the three, and proved so in the NFC Championship game against Green Bay with an astounding 220 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. Even today he has proven himself to be amongst the top running backs with 21 total touchdowns, tied most with current 49er running back Christian McCaffrey. 

McCaffrey is just on another level. By himself he had 1459 rushing yards and only 1 less total touchdown than those three combined. McCaffrey was in the race for MVP for much of the year in a historically QB dominated award. But he might need to have the most important game of his career against a weak Chiefs run defense, which gave up 4.5 YPC to all running backs. If McCaffrey does, then the 49ers have a very great chance of winning the Super Bowl. It really is tough to say which iteration is better, but the star power and the threat McCaffrey poses every time he is on the field makes the RB room of 2023 better. 

Overall both teams were absolutely dominant in similar areas, but not in the same way. While the 2019 defense was one of the best in the league, it relied heavily on the play of the defensive line whereas the Steve Wilks led defense is more reliant on pass coverage. The 2019 offense was brilliant with running the ball off the mixed production of three solid running backs. Yet it only takes one Christian McCaffrey to have similar results as them, and equally dominant rushing results. Both teams made the Super Bowl for a reason, but where the 2019 squad failed the 2023 squad hopes to rise.