Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Nine San Francisco 49ers players finished the 2023 season ranked among Pro Football Focus' top 10 players in their position groups. One was
Kyle Juszczyk (62.6 overall grade), who ranked second among NFL fullbacks. Of course, only six fullbacks met the minimum snap count criteria. Patrick Ricard of the Baltimore Ravens owned an overall grade of 71.2 and is the only fullback with a higher grade than Juszczyk's.
Below are the eight other players who ranked within the top 10 in their position groups, per Pro Football Focus.
Trent Williams
Position: Tackle
Rank: 1 of 81
Overall Grade: 91.7
Trent Williams was the NFL's highest-graded offensive tackle and the league's second-highest-graded offensive lineman. Only guard Chris Lindstrom of the Atlanta Falcons graded higher (95.0). Williams allowed one sack this past season and 19 total pressures in 555 pass-blocking snaps, including the playoffs. He has earned a grade of 91.7 or higher in each of his three seasons with the 49ers. Williams earned first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors this past season.
Nick Bosa
Position: Edge Rusher
Rank: 3 of 120
Overall Grade: 90.6
Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns (92.5) and Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys (91.8) were the only edge rushers to earn higher grades than the NFL Defensive Player of the Year,
Nick Bosa. Bosa's 18.5 sacks this past season were a career-high and led the NFL. His 98 total pressures, including the playoffs, were second only to Parsons (106). Bosa's 90.6 overall grade and 90.6 pass-rushing grade were career highs. He earned first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors for his 2022 campaign.
Christian McCaffrey
Position: Running Back
Rank: 2 of 60
Overall Grade: 90.4
McCaffrey was a mid-season addition to the 49ers roster, finishing his 2022 campaign with 2,179 all-purpose yards and 16 total touchdowns, including the playoffs. Only Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders earned a higher overall grade (91.6) this past season. McCaffrey's overall grade of 90.4 was a career-high. He earned his second career Pro Bowl selection in 2022.
Fred Warner
Position: Linebacker
Rank: 2 of 81
Overall Grade: 85.7
Bobby Wagner was the only linebacker to earn a higher overall grade (90.7) than
Fred Warner. Warner's 85.7 overall grade was the second-highest of his career. He racked up 153 tackles this past season, including the playoffs. Warner was named to the first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl rosters this past season.
George Kittle
Position: Tight end
Rank: 2 of 73
Overall Grade: 84.7
Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs is the NFL's highest-graded tight end.
George Kittle earned the second-highest mark. He finished this past season with 765 receiving yards and a career-high 11 touchdowns, adding 164 receiving yards in the playoffs. While Kittle's 84.7 overall grade ranks second among all tight ends, it is his lowest mark since his rookie season (65.8). Kittle was named to the Pro Bowl and earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2022.
Charvarius Ward
Position: Cornerback
Rank 6 of 118
Overall Grade: 81.0
Charvarius Ward was the 49ers' prized free-agent addition last offseason, and the addition paid off. The cornerback proved himself a reliable starter. Ward missed just two tackles this season, allowing a 58.5 completion percentage and four touchdowns when targeted, including in the playoffs. His 83.2 overall grade and 78.3 coverage grade were career highs.
Jimmie Ward
Position: Safety
Rank: 6 of 88
Overall Grade: 80.6
Jimmie Ward played most of the season at the slot cornerback spot (556 snaps), but Pro Football Focus lists him at his preferred position—safety. Within that group, he ranks sixth. Ward's 80.6 overall grade was the second-highest of his career (85.0 in 2019). He is the only 49ers player on this list scheduled to become a free agent.
Dre Greenlaw
Position: Linebacker
Rank: 9 of 81
Overall Grade: 79.6
While his teammate, Warner, ranks second among NFL linebackers,
Dre Greenlaw came in seven spots lower. Greenlaw's 79.6 overall grade is a career-high, as is his run-defense (78.1) and coverage (82.6) grades. He finished the season with 127 tackles, an interception, six passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries, returning one for a touchdown. Greenlaw added 26 tackles in the playoffs.
The San Francisco 49ers have compiled one of the NFL's best rosters, hence their overall success over the last four seasons, which includes a Super Bowl appearance and three trips to the NFC Championship.
A big portion of that success? The developed talent along the defensive line, which has been the core of the team ever since head coach Kyle Shanahan took over in 2017.
After a down, but still fairly strong year from the defensive line in 2022, San Francisco added defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who had 11 sacks on the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022, to bolster the interior alongside Arik Armstead.
Hargrave joins defensive end Nick Bosa, who led the team with 18.5 sacks en route to winning the Defensive Player of the Year award in
Ranking season has kicked off over at Pro Football Focus. Brock Purdy recently came in at No. 23 in the analytics site's ranking of NFL quarterbacks. Now, Pro Football Focus has turned its attention to offensive tackles. While there are some question marks along the San Francisco 49ers' offensive line, left tackle is not one of them.
Trent Williams has earned a grade of 91.9 or higher in each of his three seasons with the 49ers, including a career-high and Pro Football Focus all-time best mark of 97.8 in 2021. The 34-year-old has been the highest-graded tackle in each season
San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Arik Armstead joined NFL Network's Good Morning Football on Thursday to discuss the state of the team at the start of organized team activities (OTAs). Armstead is part of a defensive line that includes NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa and added former Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.
The question that had to be asked: Does San Francisco own the best defensive line in football?
"Well, on paper, I guess you could say that, but 'on paper' doesn't win any game," Armstead responded. "But we're excited about getting together and starting that journey of
It's premature to draw conclusions about a quarterback based on practices in May. That is especially true when you do so based on one practice. The San Francisco 49ers started organized team activities (OTAs) this week, and all eyes were on Trey Lance and Sam Darnold.
The two players are battling for that QB2 job behind last season's rookie sensation, Brock Purdy. One could even start Week 1 if Purdy is not healthy enough to do so himself.
Lance is coming off a season-ending ankle injury but looks completely healthy now. Darnold is trying to turn his career around after never living up to his high draft status.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic was on hand for Tuesday's practice, the only one open to reporters so far, and one that Barrows describes as a
