Over the weekend, I had people rank out the 49ers top position groups, using the option of voting for the top five. We have 500 votes on the subject, and a pretty clear delineation between the top five and everybody else. And we have a clear top two, neither of which is surprising. Here are the results of the vote:
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I fully expected defensive line and safety to finish at the top. The team added DeForest Buckner and Ronald Blair to a group that was already fairly talented. Of course, the team spent a first round pick on the position two straight years, so I would hope we would start seeing the fruits of that investment.
The safety position has seen investment in a variety of ways. The 49ers used a first round pick on Eric Reid in 2013, signed Antoine Bethea in 2014, and spent a second round pick on Jaquiski Tartt in 2015. Add in Jimmie Ward as a guy who could potentially play some safety down the road, and it’s hard to not be pleased with the group’s potential.
After that, there are arguments to be made for a variety of positions. After defensive line and safety, inside linebacker finished with the most first place votes, and fourth in overall points. Quarterback and offensive line were next in first place votes, but neither finished in the top five. I’m guessing first place votes were a lot of trolling, but I could see some folks voting on potential with that group.
My top five was defensive line, safety, cornerback, outside linebacker, and running back. Cornerback is based a lot on potential, but with Ward potentially securing one of the starting roles, this group could do a lot in 2016. They will also potentially benefit from an improved pass rush from the outside linebackers. While Ahmad Brooks is getting older, and is perpetually included in a list of cut candidates, he is still underrated to a certain degree. He’s less underrated than he was a couple years ago, but there is still value there. But the ranking of the OLBs is based on the potential for Eli Harold and Tank Carradine to take a step forward.