Kyle Juszczyk isn’t worried about the San Francisco 49ers being overlooked heading into 2026.
The veteran fullback appeared Friday on “The Insiders” and addressed San Francisco’s standing in the NFC West conversation. Currently, the conversation around the division is who will win between the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and a Los Angeles Rams team that added Myles Garrett this offseason.
However, as Juszczyk alluded to, people are forgetting the 49ers were one win away from the NFC West title in 2025 before Seattle took it.
“We feel great about where our team is at,” Juszczyk said. “The fact that we won 13 games last season [12 in the regular season and one playoff game] with all that we had to deal with, I think that’s easy to forget. And rightfully so. The Seahawks won a Super Bowl, the Rams had a great season, they had some great additions in the offseason, so I can understand why that is the case.”
San Francisco finished 12-5 last season while dealing with significant injuries across the roster, including season-ending absences for Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and George Kittle as well as multi-game stretches without quarterback Brock Purdy. The team still advanced to the divisional round before falling to Seattle.
With those players expected back in 2026, Juszczyk sees a roster that has improved rather than taken a step back.
“I love our squad. I think that we have only improved. Guys are getting healthy. We added Mike Evans [on offense] and Osa [Odighizuwa] on defense, which I think both of those guys are going to make such an impact,” he said. “I think we’re sitting in a good spot. If people want to forget about us, that’s fantastic. That’s a good place to be sometimes.”
Evans, a six-time Pro Bowler, joins a wide receiver room that has lacked a proven No. 1 option. He is already turning heads in practice, too, as he develops a rapport with Purdy. Odighizuwa adds depth to a defensive line that was thin without Bosa for much of last season. The 49ers also re-signed linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who missed 2025 with an injury during his time with the Denver Broncos.
So, as Juszczyk described, the 49ers head into 2026 with around the same roster they had when they made it to the divisional round and made some upgrades on both sides of the ball. And yet, they’re discounted.
But Juszczyk is OK with that.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Kyle Juszczyk fine with 49ers flying under radar in 2026
