Having led The Greatest Show on Turf, Mike Martz knows the makings of an elite NFL offense.
The Rams ranked first in total yards and points three straight seasons with Martz serving as offensive coordinator in 1999 and head coach in 2000 and 2001. He now believes his other former NFC West team will take the next step this season.
For The 33rd Team, Martz ranked the San Francisco 49ers as this year’s top offense. He credited head coach Kyle Shanahan for the aggressive appraisal.
“Kyle Shanahan is the best offensive mind in the NFL, Martz declared. “When you look at what they do with the quarterbacks, how ahead of the curve they are with their formations and how they run the ball, there is no question about it.”
Former #Rams HC and OC Mike Martz, who coached the Greatest Show on Turf, has the #49ers as the top offense entering the 2023 NFL season.
His full top-5: https://t.co/JUbuDbw15x
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 18, 2023
Perhaps more surprisingly, Martz believes the 49ers will dominate with Sam Darnold as their starting quarterback.
“He was a highly talented guy coming out of college,” Martz said of Darnold. “He was put in a couple of tough situations with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. Now, he’s with a solid offensive staff and a coach who is brilliant with quarterbacks. The 49ers are an extremely talented team, and Darnold being the starter would be a good thing.”
Whoever starts will have arguably the league’s top supporting cast led by Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle. The 49ers finished fifth in total offense last season with Trey Lance, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Brock Purdy under center.
The 49ers have a ton of talent, but they don’t roster Patrick Mahomes. Martz nonetheless ranked the Kansas City Chiefs second despite leading the pack in total yards last season.
He also endorsed another former team by placing the Detroit Lions third ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills.
Martz might have shown some bias with these rankings, but at least he didn’t put the Rams or Chicago Bears inside his top five.