49ers Could Be Screwed by 2022 NFL Schedule

The 2022 NFL Draft featured a total of 262 prospects being selected by teams across the league and a number of undrafted free agents signed deals afterwards as well. The entire process acted a jolt for NFL fans as anticipation for the season is starting to rise ahead of the schedule release on May 12.

Keep in mind fans already know the opponents their favorite team will play in 2022, just not specific dates or order. The San Francisco 49ers will look to make the playoffs for the third time in the last four seasons under head coach Kyle Shanahan, but achieving that goal is going to be far from easy.

49ers Schedule 2022

Sports Illustrated's Zach Koons put together a strength of schedule metric based on the known opponents and their 2021 regular-season records. The results could've certainly been better for the 49ers considering they ranked with the fifth-hardest schedule across all 32 franchises.

Playing in the NFC West is always going to lead to a somewhat harder schedule. San Francisco was one of three teams in the division to post 10 or more wins in 2021. Of course, the Los Angeles Rams finished atop the standings and then went on to win Super Bowl 56 over the Cincinnati Bengals.

San Francisco is also tasked with taking on opponents from the AFC West and NFC South divisions. Five of those eight teams finished with records above .500 last year, including the 13-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 12-5 Kansas City Chiefs. A matchup with the Miami Dolphins only adds to the mania.

It's become clear over the years that Shanahan knows how to get the best out of his players, though. Oddsmakers have taken that notion into account and give the 49ers +1600 odds to win Super Bowl 57, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Those chances rank tied for sixth in the NFL.

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.