49ers Betting Preview 2023: Futures Picks & Predictions for San Francisco

The San Francisco 49ers are an elite team again after persevering through injuries in 2022 to make an NFC title game appearance. Let's look ahead at their season in our 49ers betting preview based on the odds from our best sports betting apps.

The 49ers avoided the injury crater as long and as impressively as they could in 2022. But being down to basically no quarterbacks is going to sink any team, as that position is rather important.

Questions still remain under center. But now those queries aren't of the crippling kind, and are instead rooted in who will start between Brock Purdy and Trey Lance, and how that decision will shape the offense.

Check out our 2023 San Francisco 49ers betting preview based on the odds from our best NFL betting sites as part of our 2023 NFL betting guide (pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale). 

49ers betting preview 2023

49ers to win Over 10.5 games (-140 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The 49ers are among only a handful of teams that need to clear a win-total bar this high to cash the Over. At FanDuel, for example, six clubs need to notch 11-plus victories.

And yet it's difficult to justify taking the juicy plus odds on the Under and backing the 49ers to stumble even slightly. That's reflected in the unappealing short odds for the Over. The market clearly believes a Niners team that's hit double-digit wins in three of the past four years (including finishing with 13 twice) while winning the division in each of those campaigns can continue its run of success.

The 49ers endured some key departures during the offseason, particularly on defense with Jimmie Ward and Hassan Ridgeway leaving. However, they inked high-end free agents in Clelin Ferrell and Javon Hargrave to bolster an already intimidating defensive front. Hargrave is an especially critical add after notching a career-high 11 sacks in 2022 and 10 tackles for a loss.

Toss those two into a defense fresh off leading the league while allowing just 16.5 points per game in 2022. Then plug in a full year of Christian McCaffrey on the other side of the ball amid a weak division, and there's an easy recipe for the Over to hit here.

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49ers to win the NFC (+400 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐

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The 49ers are listed alongside the Philadelphia Eagles as one of just two teams with odds shorter than +500 to win the NFC. The gap between the two juggernaut teams and NFC Championship Game foes in 2022 isn't that wide at some of our best sports betting sites. Most notably, Caesars lists the Eagles as the NFC favorites at +320, while the 49ers are only narrowly behind at +350.

But at DraftKings there's value in the 49ers, at least when compared to the high-flying Eagles. That shop is listing Philadelphia at +250, with San Francisco getting the second-best odds while considerably behind at +425.

The Eagles remain a force and the main obstacle for any NFC title bid. That's particularly true on offense, as all-galaxy quarterback Jalen Hurts is a dynamic threat who's a daunting challenge to defend.

However, a staunch Eagles defense took some massive offseason blows during free agency with Hargrave and ball-hawking safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson leaving. Gardner-Johnson finished tied for the league lead with six interceptions in 2022. Those losses in Philadelphia could help to mitigate the 49ers' comparative weakness at quarterback.

Christian McCaffrey to win Offensive Player of the Year (+1400 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐

You need to summon the bravery and/or stomach to take on the injury risk tied to this bet, though that's built into the long price to a large degree. McCaffrey played just 10 games across the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

However, concerns about his brittle ways can go too far. He played his seventh NFL season in 2022, and McCaffrey has appeared in every contest during four of those campaigns.

McCaffrey has ended up high in the Offensive Player of the Year voting in the past, finishing third in 2019 after compiling 2,392 yards from scrimmage. There are plenty of weapons and competition for touches throughout a deep 49ers offense. But that was true in 2022 as well when McCaffrey produced six games with 100-plus yards from scrimmage over his 11 regular-season contests with San Francisco. That included eruptions for 149, 153, 138, and 193 yards.

Brandon Aiyuk Over 800.5 receiving yards (-115 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

There are clear quarterback questions in San Francisco, and that will impact Aiyuk's ability to be a consistent producer. But that's been the case for a while, and the shifty wideout keeps rolling right along while clearing this number in two of his first three seasons.

Jimmy Garoppolo (10 starts), Brock Purdy (five), and Trey Lance (two) all appeared under center for the Niners in 2022. Yet Aiyuk still tallied career highs in receiving yards (1,015), receptions (78), and touchdowns (eight).

Joey Bosa to record 2-plus sacks in 3-plus games (+150 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Bosa recorded four multi-sack contests in 2022, an impressive feat accomplished even while missing a game. He topped out at three single-game sacks during a Week 13 victory over the Miami Dolphins.

He did the same in 2021, and Boas fell just one multi-sack outing short of reaching this mark during his only other healthy season in 2019. Bosa is a menace who resides in the opposing backfield and has also accumulated 19 and 21 tackles for a loss in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The sacks can come in bunches when you're penetrating that often.

Bosa was the sack leader in 2022 at 18.5, and he finished fourth in 2021 with 15.5. He's a fine bet in that market too as the NFL sacks odds favorite and priced around +400. But the bar here is that much easier to clear.

NFL betting previews

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