The San Francisco 49ers' roster has a significant flaw when it comes to the club's long-term Super Bowl hopes.
That flaw is exposed in Pro Football Focus's list of the top 25 NFL players under the age of 25. There are no 49ers on the list.
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Perhaps the worst part is there aren't any players on the 49ers' roster really worthy of consideration as of the 2025 offseason. Only two players would even qualify under PFF's parameters. To meet the criteria, the player must be under 25 when Week 1 kicks off. That leaves for the 49ers linebacker Dee Winters and safety Malik Mustapha.
Winters has yet to prove himself as a regular NFL player and Mustapha had a nice rookie year, but he's not in the realm of Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph, who was an All-Pro last season and ranked 25th on PFF's list.
For the 49ers the hope is that the 2025 NFL draft class will come with a handful of contenders for a future version of this list. First-round pick Mykel Williams has the potential to make that jump. So does linebacker Nick Martin and safety Marquise Sigle.
If San Francisco is going to remain in the contender conversation into 2025 and beyond, they'll need some of the youth they brought in this offseason to quickly elevate into the realm of future NFL star. If they don't, the 49ers could have some long-term issues returning to the Super Bowl.