Pro Football Focus (PFF) recently published its list of the top 3 players on every team. However, before I clicked to go directly to the 49ers' list (who cares about the Falcons or Rams?), I made my own list. I wondered if our lists would match, or maybe there was someone I had forgotten.
Now, it's important to note the list comprises the best players, not the most valuable. The latter would automatically include quarterback Brock Purdy (and almost every team's QB) simply because of the value of the position.
However, when I saw their list, I immediately thought they got it wrong.
To an extent, that did not surprise me. PFF evaluates the performances of every player on every play in every game and ranks the players all the way from first to worst. But so often, half of those lists are skewed. That is because they evaluate every snap without seeming to take into account the value of the plays. For instance, they might give a guard a satisfactory, or even pretty good, grade because his run blocking was outstanding, and he only allowed one sack. However, he gave up the sack when it was 4th and goal with the game on the line, and he had earlier committed a penalty when it was 3rd and short, just outside field goal range. Only two mistakes, but ...
Likewise, the list includes players who barely saw the field. I have seen players in either their top 5 or bottom 5 who only played 6 snaps. You can't fairly compare someone like that to a starter.
But I was still interested in the list anyway (Like so many fans, I am a sucker for lists).
Here are PFF's top three 49ers players:
So, what is my problem? They are all outstanding players. But this is supposed to be the best three. I have several criteria. First, on a good team, such as the 49ers, the player needs to be one of the best at their position in the league. He should be dominant. And he has to have played most of the season. They discounted Christian McCaffery partly because of this, and I did, too. Two years ago, he would have been right at the top, but not last year.
First, there is the glaring omission: Trent Williams. Williams is one player we can confidently say is a future Hall of Famer. I would not be surprised if he made it on the first ballot, which is a rarity, even though announcers frequently refer to players as such.
Trent has been the gold standard for offensive tackles for years, including last year, when he played only about two-thirds of the season. He has even been judged—by his teammates, who really know—the best athlete on the team, regardless of position, let alone the best player.
Of the others, certainly Warner should be there. For a long time, he has been considered the best middle linebacker in football, the definition of greatness of the new breed of MLB. He runs the defense. He is the best coverage LB in football and perhaps in history. He is a sideline-to-sideline destroyer and a menace when it comes to forcing fumbles. Last year, he was in the discussion for Defensive Player of the Year until he hurt his ankle.
And then there is George Kittle, the best all-around tight end in the game. He is the total package: the best blocker, the one young players are told to study, and an outstanding receiver. Last year, he was second in the league in touchdowns among tight ends and first in receiving yards per game. He would have led the league in total receiving yardage among TEs if he had not missed two games.
So, what is my problem with Nick Bosa? First, though he is an excellent defensive end, he is nowhere near the top in the league. When it comes to sacks, Myles Garrett, Trey Hendrickson, T.J. Watt (I am counting edge rushers in the category since they are often lumped together), and perhaps even Maxx Crosby are more prolific. Bosa is good against the run, but he is not in the top 5 edge defenders for most individual tackles.
One category PFF cites as a measure of defensive linemen—and other outlets repeat this stat—is pass rush win rate. How many pressures did a player generate and how frequently? Bosa is indeed very high in that department, sometimes even the best.
But I don't take as much stock in that as others do. Why? Because what do great quarterbacks do when they are under pressure? The great ones complete the pass anyway. One thing the Faithful will remember with pain (trigger warning) is the pressure DeForest Buckner got on Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIV. Only a foot away when Mahomes threw up a prayer that Tyreek Hill caught and turned into a huge play that turned the game around. It was 3rd down. A stop, and the Niners probably win the Super Bowl. But it wasn't a sack. It was a pressure. The only way to guarantee a quarterback doesn't complete a pass is to get him on the ground. That's what the Eagles did to Mahomes in the Super Bowl last year.
So, give me Williams, Warner, and Kittle—the three best in the game at their respective positions, for several years running. All three will be in or have a good chance of being in the Hall of Fame. Bosa is not in that category yet, even though he is only a year younger than Warner.
But what do I know? PFF can provide a scientific basis for determining who played best. That fumble on the goal line is not as important as his wins above replacement number. And the handful of blocks a lineman on special teams made count the same as the 56 the quarterback's blindside protector did.
PFF knows all. I'm just a fan.