PFF ranks the top three 49ers players heading into 2023

Pro Football Focus released a list of the top three players for each of the 32 teams heading into the 2023 season. Given how loaded the 49ers roster is at the top, they provide arguably the toughest challenge in the league when it comes to singling out three players who stand out above the rest.

While it may be a tall task, the folks at PFF were up for the challenge. Here were the players that they chose.

1. Trent Williams

This one is as much of a lock as there possibly could be on this list. I think Williams not only has a claim as the best player on this 49ers roster, but he is also in the discussion among the greatest players who have ever played the left tackle position.

A surefire first ballot Hall of Famer, Williams is playing the best football of his career despite entering his 13th season in the NFL. A dominant force the likes of which the league has seldom seen, PFF has graded Williams as the highest graded player at any position over the last three seasons.

2. Nick Bosa

As the reigning defensive player of the year, Bosa is another guy that you can't envision this list without. Since Bosa entered the league in 2019, the 49ers have had a top five defense every single season, which is no coincidence.

As dynamic and complete of a pass rushing threat as there is in the league, Bosa has a strong case to be the preeminent edge rusher in the NFL, both now and for the foreseeable future. Coming off a year that saw him post 18.5 sacks, it's only appropriate to wonder if 2023 is the year he joins the exclusive 20 sack club. Based on how he has ascended year after year since being drafted, that's a good bet to make.

3. Fred Warner

This is where things get extremely difficult. There are a handful of guys that you could make a strong argument for in this spot. Deebo Samuel is a one of a kind player who is arguably the most lethal offensive weapon in the league when he is on. George Kittle is in the midst of a career that will likely go down as one of the greatest tight ends we have ever seen play the game of football.

Christian McCaffrey is as dynamic and versatile of a player as you will find in the NFL, and we saw first hand how much he elevated the 49ers offense last season upon his arrival. Cases can be made for all, but PFF got this one right by selecting Warner.

Warner is the definition of a one of one player. There has never been a linebacker in the NFL that has his ability to cover while also handling the duties a linebacker is responsible for near the line of scrimmage.

Every Sunday, it is a treat watching Warner surprise us all by doing something you never thought possible for a player at his position. As the game has evolved and linebackers have been tasked with more responsibility in space, Warner is the prototypical player you would create in a laboratory to specifically adapt to the modern game.

He is the most complete linebacker in the NFL, and the heartbeat of what has consistently been the best defense in the league for going on half of a decade now.

I agree with the list PFF put together here. As tough as it may have been to deliberate on this one, Williams, Bosa, and Warner are in a tier of their own. Who would you say are the three best players on the 49ers?