On Thursday morning, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch shared his thoughts on the Pro Bowl snubs of some of his players. Two surprising absences from the NFC Pro Bowl roster were running back Christian McCaffrey, who was listed as an alternate, and linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who wasn't even an alternate. Greenlaw, the 49ers' tackle leader, was nowhere to be found on the list.
"I told Dre, 'Don't you worry about that,'" Lynch shared during the KNBR interview. "Usually, the flow with the Pro Bowl is the first year you really should make it, you often don't. But you send notice around the league, and I promise you, if Dre keeps playing like this, the Pro Bowl is going to be the least of his accolades. I mean, he is playing some tremendous football.
"Obviously, Christian McCaffrey, his play speaks for itself. We're a completely different team on offense since he's been here. I thought Christian should have been a part of that team."
On Thursday afternoon, head coach Kyle Shanahan admitted that he doesn't like to make a big deal with his team about the Pro Bowl announcements. He doesn't address them in a team meeting because he doesn't want to do so in front of those who missed out.
"I think there's a number of guys who should have been in there who weren't," Shanahan said.
Such as who, specifically?
"Such as Greenlaw, without a doubt, because I didn't see him anywhere," Shanahan responded. "And I truly believe Christian would have been a starter. I'm not sure what the list is, but I know he wasn't, and that surprised me. But Greenlaw was the biggest [surprise] to me."
Greenlaw has racked up an interception, six passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and a touchdown to go along with the linebacker's team-leading 111 tackles. His 86.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus is the best among all 49ers linebackers this season, including Fred Warner, who was selected to his second Pro Bowl. Greenlaw's grade also ranks second among all NFL linebackers (Bobby Wagner, Rams, 90.5).
The only 49ers defender with a better overall grade than Greenlaw is NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate Nick Bosa (90.2).
How does Shanahan access Greenlaw's play this season?
"I think he's had a Pro Bowl year," the coach responded. "I think he's been great. I think he's played at that level, always, when he's played for us. He missed a little bit this year, not much, been able to stay healthy, fought through some injuries early on. When he's been playing healthy, I think he's played as good as anyone in this league."