I’m imagining a world where the 49ers are good again.

A world where they bounce back to be a winning team again. This year. Even return to the playoffs.

Don’t laugh at me.

The bar has certainly been lowered for the franchise. It has been a rapid decline from Super Bowl contender to the hot mess they’ve become. The ouster of Jim Harbaugh — sorry, the mutual parting of ways between him and the organization — seems to have put a hex on the 49ers.

But if daydreaming is still permitted in this digital age of click-and-gratify, I’m escaping to a place where everything breaks right for the 49ers. Where the evil media produces apologetic articles and front-running fans claim they predicted this all along.

In this world, NaVorro Bowman is the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, the 49ers’ first since Dana Stubblefield in 1997. And Bowman proves to be the heart and soul of a 49ers defense built on speed and toughness. He leads this unit like Ray Lewis led the 2000 Baltimore Ravens.

Yeah, Lewis had five Pro Bowlers with him. But pass rusher Aaron Lynch, free safety Eric Reid, a healthy version of corner Tramaine Brock and a solid year from linebacker Corey Lemonier help gives Bowman some adequate support.

In this world, Colin Kaepernick throws for 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushes for 1,000 yards.

No, it hasn’t been done before. Russell Wilson nearly did it last year, falling 151 rushing yards shy. Robert Griffin III was 185 yards shy in 2012.

The closest was Randall Cunningham, who rushed for 942 yards in 1990 while throwing for 3,466 and 30 touchdowns.

Kaepernick threw for 3,369 yards last year and rushed for 639. He also led the league in sacks (52) and played in an offense that mistook him for Jeff George.

With the 49ers offensive line shaping up as one of the most suspect in the NFL, it is a safe bet that Kaepernick will take off more. And if offensive coordinator Geep Chryst is of the mind to use all of Kaepernick’s skills, No. 7 rushing for 1,000 yards wouldn’t be miraculous.

The big question is the 3,000 yards. But in 2013, Kaepernick threw 60 fewer passes, completed a career-low 58.4 percent and still totaled 3,197. With a new deep threat in Torrey Smith, Kaepernick should be able to improve on his 11.7 yards per completion last season. Especially considering in this world, Vernon Davis has escaped the Bermuda Triangle.

A big year from Kaepernick, based on his own standards, is a game-changer for the 49ers.

In this world, Jarryd Hayne is Devin Hester on Vegemite.

In this world, Carlos Hyde holds up as the reliable back the 49ers desperately need to replace Frank Gore. Hyde has more burst than Gore and looks to be in the ballpark in terms of physicality. But the heart and the resilience are what made Gore special. That’s what the 49ers get from Hyde to resurrect the ground game that had them one of the toughest teams in the NFC.

It would help if Arizona took a step back and St. Louis stopped its incline. If the NFC South remains an embarrassment, if the AFC North — which the 49ers play this year — is again disappointing, if Dallas suffers from the loss of stud back DeMarco Murray. … Such a perfect storm greatly helps the 49ers chances.

Because in this world, the 49ers hang in there through the heart of the schedule, stay competitive and in the mix. All the while Jim Tomsula, whose hiring had 49ers haters laughing and 49ers fans befuddled, learns the ropes and leans on his personality to inspire and bond the team.

Then the 49ers clean up on the bad teams on the back end of their schedule and clinch a playoff berth with an emotional home win to close the regular season.

Stop laughing at me.

Read Marcus Thompson II’s blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/thompson. Contact him at mthomps2@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ThompsonScribe.