The 49ers’ star-studded roster continues to receive respect from the NFL’s top analysts.
This time, it is Pro Football Focus’ Sam Monson who believes San Francisco has one of the best rosters in the game with some of the best players.
Monson revealed his top 50 players ahead of the 2024 season on Friday, and these seven 49ers made the cut:
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3.) T Trent Williams
Williams, who turned 36 on Friday, has been one of the best offensive linemen in football for much of his 13-year NFL career.
He is expected to continue protecting star 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy like no other during San Francisco’s push for another Super Bowl appearance.
“Perhaps nothing better sums up Trent Williams‘ dominance than the fact that he has actual highlight reels as an offensive tackle,” Monson wrote. “He didn’t give up a sack all last season while posting a 92.6 PFF run-blocking grade.
San Francisco 49ers
“He was one of only two tackles in the game to earn PFF grades of at least 80.0 as both a pass protector and a run blocker, and the only one to do so with an overall mark north of 90.0.”
Not too bad for the oldest player on San Francisco’s stacked roster.
7.) DE Nick Bosa
Bosa is coming off what can be considered a down year for the star defensive end, but he still was selected to his fourth Pro Bowl.
He finished the 2023 NFL season with 10.5 sacks -- a healthy amount -- but left many hoping he can return to earning 18.5 as he did in 2022.
“Nick Bosa was seen as having a slow start to the season because he recorded just one sack in the first four games, but also racked up 20 total pressures and three 90.0-plus PFF pass-rushing grades in that span,” Monson wrote.
“Bosa was a dominant force all season long and racked up an absurd 27 total pressures in three playoff games, including 12 in a Super Bowl loss to Kansas City. He is one of the best all-around players in the game — at any position.”
Bosa has made the Pro Bowl in all four of his healthy seasons, so the high honor is his floor.
9.) LB Fred Warner
San Francisco's defensive leader is primed to dominate during the 2024 season.
Warner has flourished in every aspect of the linebacker position since being a full-season starter as a rookie in 2018.
He enters Year 6 with the same high expectations as he does every season, and he should be counted on to record somewhere around 125 tackles, five quarterback hits, a handful of turnovers while securing additional hardware and acknowledgments.
“Playing linebacker in today’s NFL has become increasingly difficult, and very few players do it consistently well,” Monson added. “Fred Warner continually remains atop the PFF rankings with elite grades despite those challenges.
“Last season, he notched a 90.3 PFF overall grade, grading well in every facet of play despite an unusual uptick in missed tackles to 28 over his 20-game season. Warner is the gold standard at a challenging position.”
All linebackers want to be like Warner.
10.) RB Christian McCaffrey
The 49ers’ reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year made it at the buzzer.
McCaffrey has done it all for San Francisco throughout his 27 games with the team, totaling 3,233 all-purpose yards and 31 touchdowns on 550 total touches.
“The most complete back in football, Christian McCaffrey remains the all-purpose yardage monster in the NFL that he was in college at Stanford,” Monson said.
“Sadly, the 49ers don’t let McCaffrey return kicks the way he did in college, but CMC racked up 2,443 all-purpose yards across 20 games last season, including the Super Bowl run. He broke 86 tackles and dropped only one pass.”
McCaffrey has produced video-game-like numbers for the 49ers, rounding out Monson’s top 10.
Three other San Francisco stars also cracked the rest of Monson’s top 50 list.
19.) TE George Kittle
49.) WR Brandon Aiyuk
50.) WR Deebo Samuel