Donte Whitner Picks Brock Purdy’s 49ers Over Rams in Race for NFL’s Best Offense

The San Francisco 49ers held their own several games last year despite being underdogs due to the absence of key players through injuries.

Donte Whitner Picks Brock Purdy’s 49ers Over Rams in Race for NFL’s Best Offense

Brock Purdy and Donte Whitner inside the circle (Image via IMAGO/X)

Donte Whitner made a bold claim about his former team, the San Francisco 49ers. Whitner believes the 49ers have the potential to be the best offense in the NFC West, ahead of rivals the Los Angeles Rams.

The 49ers finished 12-5 in the regular season, defeated the defending champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, in the wildcard round, before losing to the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional playoffs. The Niners did all that while missing several key players: Trent Williams, Brandon Aiyuk, Nick Bosa, and Fred Warner.

In a recent episode of the Grit Code Podcast, Whitner explained the 49ers’ offense can match or even better the Rams, led by reigning league MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford, if their best players manage to stay healthy and play a full season.

Absolutely. Even better than the Rams because of the different players and what they provide out there. Kyle Shanahan’s ability to create mismatches across the board. George Kittle, Mike Evans, Christian McCaffrey, and Trent Williams. You have an All-Star team on offense. So, all it’s going to take is for them to stay healthy.

Donte Whitner said via the Grit Code Podcast

Whitner also noted that Aiyuk’s absence won’t dim the firepower up front. That’s because the Niners drafted De’Zhaun Stribling in the second round. The 6-foot-2 Ole Miss alum, alongside future Hall of Famer Mike Evans, is a match made in football heaven.

It all boils down to Shanahan’s ability to create a solid offense. With all the injuries last year, experts had them written off the race for playoff qualification. The odds of making it out of the loaded NFC West came down to a season low when Brock Purdy got injured and missed a few games.

That’s when Shanahan’s genius scheme paid dividends. Shanahan had signed Mac Jones in the offseason. Despite receiving immense criticism for the move, there was optimism among the 49ers’ ranks. Regardless of how things turned out in New England, Jones is still a first-round draft pick.

Jones went 5-3 and didn’t complain when Shanahan benched him to start Purdy. Together, they dragged the Niners into the playoffs.

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Hall of Famer predicts a successful season for the 49ers

While Donte Whitner is rooting for the offense to be better than the Rams, Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice took his assessment of the team even further. Rice believes the team is ready to win the Super Bowl.

Donte Whitner Picks Brock Purdy's 49ers Over Rams in Race for NFL's Best Offense
Brock Purdy (Image via IMAGO)

In an article by NBC Sports Bay Area, Rice claimed, “This is the year for the Niners.”

I’m looking for the [San Francisco 49ers] to make a statement. They have a very good team now. So, it’s going to be up to that locker room. It’s going to be up to all those guys to come together as a cohesive group and start talking about this during training camp. Don’t wait until the season. Let the guys know that there are high expectations, and let’s go get it.

Jerry Rice said

Analyst gave the 49ers offense a positive score ahead of the 2026 NFL season

CBS Sports analyst Jared Dubin awarded the 49ers offense a 4.20 grade (fifth best) and placed the team in the “Very Good Environments” category alongside the Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers.

While George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey are among the best in the entire league, Dubin fears the depth at those positions isn’t great for the Niners. If one or both suffer injuries, the Niners could face a slump.

FOX Sports metric says the 49ers have +1700 odds to win the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium. Only the Rams, Ravens, Bills, Seahawks, Chiefs, Patriots, and Chargers have better odds.

Editor’s Note (Updated on July 13): An earlier version of this article incorrectly attributed a quote to the wrong source. The attribution has been corrected.

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