Are the 49ers a potential overachiever in the making?

The San Francisco 49ers are near the bottom of the list when it comes to win total projections and playoff odds for the coming season. It is not surprising, coming off a 2-14 season and a roster overhaul. They will be competitive in a lot of games, but the general belief is they will not win many.

Now that minicamp is a wrap, we are starting to see media folks looking ahead to the coming season. NFL.com’s Marc Sessler put together a list of teams he thinks will underachieve and overachieve in 2017. His potential underachievers includes the Jaguars, Cowboys and Saints. His list of potential overachievers includes the Chargers, Browns, and our 49ers.

Sessler says he does not see the playoffs, but he thinks they could very well end up with six or more wins. I’ve seen people suggesting that, and the public has been betting the OVER heavily on 4.5 wins. There is a lot of optimism, with the hiring of Kyle Shanahan, and the aggressive work in free agency and the draft.

In discussing the roster, Sessler focused on the offense. The defense has had a strong talent infusion, but plenty of questions remain on the offense. However, with Kyle Shanahan in place, he likes the addition of Hoyer. He is obviously not expecting huge things, with a six-win prediction, but he points to Hoyer’s previous work with Shanahan as a reason for optimism.

It's easy -- and fair -- to dismiss Brian Hoyer, but remember that the journeyman quarterback has worked well with Shanahan before. The duo helped the Browns to a surprising 7-4 start in 2014 before the wheels fell off, with the coach making the most of Hoyer in a play-action-heavy attack that leaned hard on a young backfield.

The 49ers drafted Joe Williams, who Kyle Shanahan and running backs coach Bobby Turner were extremely high on. The rookie, along with UDFA Matt Breida come into a situation where they could make a lot of noise early. If Shanahan and Turner can do their magic with the backfield, coupled with improved play from the offensive line, the 49ers offense might not be half bad.

With all that in mind, what’s your current win prediction for the 49ers?