The San Francisco 49ers offense has been very successful heading into Sunday’s monster matchup with the Seattle Seahawks. Brock Purdy is playing the best football of his career, Kyle Shanahan has made timely play calls, and the 49ers offensive line has performed as a top-five unit. Even with injuries to Mike Evans, who is fighting through bumps and bruises, and the losses of Demarcus Robinson, De’Zhaun Stribling, and Ricky Pearsall, the 49ers offense has kept trucking.
Which personnel groupings have
been the most effective for the 49ers in 2026?
According to Football Insights, the 49ers are tied for first in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens with an EPA of 0.25 from heavy personnel packages (two or fewer WRs). The 68% rate is the second-highest rate for two receivers or fewer, behind the Las Vegas Raiders, and the 49ers have a 59.7% success rate and a 14.4% explosive play rate.
Now, with three or more receivers on the field, the 49ers lead the league with a 0.33 EPA. Again, the 49ers don’t use three or more receivers much, with the second-lowest rate of 32%. The success rate of 58.1% is the best in the NFL, and the explosive play rate of 16.7% is good for the third-highest in the league.
A deeper look shows the 49ers have three of the top EPA performances in the top 12 of any personnel grouping. With 72 plays from 11 personnel (5th in the NFL), the 49ers sport a total EPA of 23.90 and a 0.49 EPA/pass. The league average for passing from this grouping is 56.19% and an average EPA of -0.03. The 49ers are at a 68.06% pass rate.
Out of 12 personnel, the 49ers rank tenth in the NFL with a total EPA of 14.15 and a play rate of 14.91% (34 plays out of 228). That is good for second amongst all teams out of 12 personnel. The league average usage is 21.87%, and EPA is -0.01. The offense has positive EPA/pass and rush with 0.80 and 0.03, respectively.
The 49ers follow up with the 11th-best EPA performance, and it comes from 21 personnel. This grouping is by far their most utilized at 40.79% (93 out of 228 plays). The 49ers are the number one offense from 21, with a total EPA of 13.39. The league average is a lowly 6.73% with an EPA of -0.06. The 49ers pass 38.71% of the time and have an EPA/pass of 0.18 and an EPA/rush of 0.12.
The 49ers offense has been efficient and explosive so far. Sunday will be the biggest test of the season and a chance to show the offense can take down top-flight defenses.
