It’s fair to say the 49ers’ roster is stacked. That has now been validated by the rest of the NFL.
On Monday, the league released the finale of the NFL Top 100, the annual list of the best 100 players in the league, as voted on by players.
San Francisco, in relatively unsurprising fashion, led the league, with eight players named to the list. The Eagles and Cowboys both had seven.
The 49ers’ top player? Nick Bosa, No. 4 overall. Bosa came in behind only Jalen Hurts (No. 3), Justin Jefferson (No. 2) and Patrick Mahomes (No. 1).
The other seven names on the list were Trent Williams (No. 14), Fred Warner (No. 15), George Kittle (No. 19), Christian McCaffrey (No. 35), Deebo Samuel (No. 61), Talanoa Hufanga (No. 78) and Dre Greenlaw (No. 79). Both Hufanga and Greenlaw debuted on the list, and McCaffrey returned after being left off last year, largely due to games missed.
What’s incredible about the list is that it does not include arguably the team’s best pure wide receiver in Brandon Aiyuk, either of their interior defensive linemen in Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave, or Charvarius Ward.
Hargrave fell off the list despite ranking 98th on it in 2022, and setting a career high in sacks with 11.0 last season. Armstead was No. 104 in 2020 after a career-high 10.0-sack season. That No. 104 spot was occupied by former Jimmie Ward this season.
You would imagine Aiyuk would make the list next season if he stacked another 1,000-yard receiving season. Based on his training camp performance, that seems likely.
The 49ers not only led the league in total players named to the list, but had three players named the best at their position in Bosa, Warner and Williams. Kittle lost out to Travis Kelce, and McCaffrey was somehow the sixth running back on the list, behind Saquon Barkley, Nick Chubb, Derrick Henry, Austin Ekeler and Josh Jacobs.
