2017 NFL Power Rankings: Where do Los Angeles Rams stand heading into Week 1 preseason?
By Dan Parzych
30. San Francisco 49ers
Thanks to the San Francisco 49ers, the Los Angeles Rams didn’t finish at the bottom of the NFC West after the team went 2-14 during Chip Kelly‘s only season as head coach. But believe it or not, both of those wins by the 49ers happened to come against the Rams, which in a way is kind of hilarious to think about.
Just like their division rivals, San Francisco is another team that experienced plenty of changes this offseason between the hiring of an offensive mastermind in Kyle Shanahan as head coach to parting ways with Colin Kaepernick to focus on rebuilding the offense. Instead of using a first-round draft pick on a quarterback to potentially build the franchise around, Shanahan decided to bring in veteran Brian Hoyer to run the offense for at least the 2017 season, which seems like a wise move.
Who knows, maybe Hoyer’s experience over the years can help San Francisco’s offense pull off a few surprises this year, especially since he will have a speedy wideout to work with in Pierre Garcon, who joined the team in free agency. But if the 49ers really want to light it up on offense, Carlos Hyde needs to figure out a way to be consistent in the ground game.