Pro Football Focus is counting down its list of the 50 best players in the NFL right now and has revealed Nos. 21 through 30. Defensive end Nick Bosa and offensive tackle Trent Williams have become the first San Francisco 49ers players to appear on the list, coming in at Nos. 27 and 24, respectively.
It's important to note that the ranking is a projection of the top players for the upcoming season and not simply based on past performance, as many Pro Football Focus rankings are. Also, no single position is viewed as more valuable than another in deciding the ranking order. That means a safety is on equal footing with a quarterback.
Bosa has only one full NFL season on his resume, but it was enough to put him at No. 27 within the ranking. The young pass rusher was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2019, and the 49ers defense missed him last season. Bosa suffered an ACL injury during Week 2 and was lost for the year.
"It's hard to believe that we've only seen the rookie version of Nick Bosa, and he was still dominant enough to rank this high on a list of the best players in the NFL," wrote Sam Monson. "The former Ohio State Buckeye was one of the best pass-rushing prospects of the PFF College era, and he was good enough to break the PFF record for most pressures generated by a rookie with 80 — and he looked better and better as the playoffs wore on. Bosa came away with 12 total pressures in Super Bowl LIV."
Bosa finished his rookie campaign with 47 tackles, 16 tackles for a loss, 25 quarterback hits, nine sacks, an interception, two passes defensed, and a forced fumble.
San Francisco traded for Williams last year, and the offensive lineman re-signed on a long-term contract in March. Despite not playing in 2019, the eight-time Pro Bowler showed no drop-off and proved he's still among the best in the game.
"No offensive lineman could match the blocking highlight reel that Williams crafted in 2020," wrote Sam Monson. "The veteran tackle was one of the most dominant run-blockers we have ever seen, earning a 91.8 PFF grade in that facet of play; he routinely buried his assigned defender to spring big runs for the 49ers' backs and only allowed 19 total pressures in his first year back after missing the 2019 season."
