Coming off a disappointing 2024 campaign, the San Francisco 49ers find themselves in the midst of a roster retooling that casts doubt on their ability to get back to the postseason in 2025.

The path is undoubtedly narrower for the 49ers than it has been in the recent past, which means they’ll need a handful of things to go right for them if they’re going to return to form as Super Bowl contenders in the NFC.

Here are six key things that need to happen for San Francisco to make a deep playoff push after missing last year’s postseason:

1. Stay healthy at the top

There’s not really a lot to this one. When the 49ers have had their best players healthy in the Kyle Shanahan era, they’ve made deep postseason runs. If Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, George Kittle, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and Brock Purdy are all healthy, it puts San Francisco in a great position to play its best football in January.

2. Brock Purdy bounces back

Purdy wasn’t terrible in 2024, but there was a clear regression in his play style where he stopped leaning on easy throws and instead held the ball looking for big plays down the field. McCaffrey’s return should help a little in that area. The onus ultimately falls on Purdy though to play an efficient brand of football where he leans more on his offense and his playmakers instead of doing all the heavy lifting himself. If he can turn back into the player he was in 2022 and 2023, while sprinkling in his growth through experience and seeing NFL defenses, there’s a chance he’s back in the MVP conversation with some big-time numbers on a very good offense.

3. Mykel Williams is a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate

The 49ers need a handful of rookies to be good, but their first-round pick from this year is the one who needs to shine the brightest. He fills a major hole on the defensive line and could provide a pass rushing punch that they’ve been missing the last couple seasons. Williams should also be an excellent run defender on the edge. If he becomes the player the 49ers believed he’d be when they selected him No. 11 overall, their defense should rapidly round into championship form.

4. Upton Stout starts 17 games

One of the potential pitfalls of this season for San Francisco is their lack of depth in the secondary. Stout figures to be the starting nickel cornerback. The third-round pick was impressive in training camp before getting derailed by a calf injury. If he starts 17 games, it likely means he’s playing at a high level and the 49ers secondary is in a good spot. San Francisco doesn’t have a ton of options behind him on the depth chart if he’s hurt or unable to hold his starting job.

5. Ricky Pearsall looks like WR1

For all the talk about Jauan Jennings, the spotlight will be on Pearsall this season. He was a first-round pick in 2024 and missed most of training camp with shoulder and hamstring injuries. Then he missed the first six weeks of the regular season after being shot in the chest during an attempted robbery. This year he had a full camp and looks primed for a breakout campaign. The 49ers passing game should be good if Pearsall and Purdy maintain the connection they found in camp.

6. A special teams 180

It’s hard to quantify just how bad the 49ers special teams were in 2024. Those units lost them multiple games. Brant Boyer was installed as the special teams coordinator to replace Brian Schneider. If San Francisco just cleans up some of their issues in kick coverage, punt coverage and on field goals they’ll be better positioned to win some of the close games they lost last season.

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