7 San Francisco 49ers considered top-5 at their position by peers

The NFL releases the top-100 each offseason, that always leaves a lot to be desired. How many players are putting a lot of thought into their rankings once they get into the 50s? Probably not many.

The NLFPA had an idea that should stick moving forward. The players voted on a top five list for each position, with one stipulation. You could only vote for and against the position you play and play against.

So, when Deebo Samuel made his list, he could vote for Justin Jefferson and Davante Adams, along with Sauce Gardner and Patrick Surtain.

But Deebo couldn’t vote for Nick Bosa or Fred Warner, since, generally speaking, wide receivers aren’t going 1-on-1 against defensive ends and pass rushers.

As you might imagine, the 49ers were well-represented among the player ballots:

That’s pretty cool for Jalen Hurts to get acknowledged.

No arguments at wide receiver.

Pollard over McCaffrey? Wow. Still, McCaffrey making it is more than enough.

Remember after the Raiders game when players like Bosa said Jacobs is the best running back they’d ever faced? They weren’t alone.

We finally got to see red zone Kittle down the stretch. It feels like that’s a weapon the 49ers should lean into even more in 2023.

Trent will likely be the top dog until he retires. Players like Tunsil and Thomas were excellent this season. Williams had a “down” year by superhuman standards, and was still head and shoulders above the rest of the competition.

Defensively, the 49ers had the No. 1 player at two positions, and cracked another list.

Had Arik Armstead not missed a chunk of the season, I feel good about him making the top-5. Williams got off to a hot start, but faded down the stretch. Armstead should make the list next year.

Bobby Wagner being No. 3 makes this whole exercise moot.

For Hufanga to earn this type of recognition from his peers during his first full season as a starter is impressive. The three players listed ahead of him are established and have been at the top of their game for 4–5 seasons. Kudos to Hufanga on a fabulous season.