The new league year is quickly approaching, but before we move on to 2023, let's highlight some of of the standouts from the 2022 campaign one last time. Pro Football Focus released its 'PFF 101' list highlighting the top athletes of the 2022 season. It's important to note that this list recognizes top overall players regardless of position and only takes into account performances from the season that was. That being said, with an NFC Championship Game appearance in 2022, it's no surprise that a total of seven San Francisco 49ers were named to this list.
Below is the complete list of 49ers players that made the 'PFF 101' and their rankings, per PFF staff:
No. 11 - Defensive Lineman Nick Bosa
"One of the game's very best defenders this season, Bosa tied for the league lead with 90 pressures in the regular season before adding eight more in the playoffs. Bosa was a problem for any offense that had to block him, and he was the best run defender among the top edge rushers this season."
No. 13 - Left Tackle Trent Williams
"Williams has been arguably the league's best offensive lineman over the last several seasons and did little this year to change that story. He led all offensive tackles in overall PFF grade (91.7) for the third year in a row, allowing 19 total pressures in 17 games."
No. 31 - Running Back Christian McCaffrey
"McCaffrey became the final version of his potential this season in San Francisco after the team traded for him midseason. He was an elite ball carrier and receiver, but his ability to line up all over the formation and interchange alignments with Deebo Samuel became a nightmare for opposing defenses to contend with."
No. 34 Linebacker Fred Warner
"Warner continues to show he has special ability as an NFL linebacker. He makes more improbable plays — such as running step for step with CeeDee Lamb down the seam from mugging the A-gap pre-snap — than any other linebacker in football."
No. 40 Tight End George Kittle
"When the 49ers need to lean on Kittle, he shows that he is still a dominant game-breaker. He generated almost 1,000 yards receiving, including the playoffs, but they tended to come in feast or famine bursts due to the volume of playmakers San Francisco can deploy. Passes thrown his way this season generated a 140.5 passer rating."
No. 61 Cornerback Charvarius Ward
"Ward justified the contract the 49ers gave him in the offseason and had an excellent year. He finished with 11 pass breakups in addition to his lone interception and posted the best PFF run-defense grade of any outside cornerback (91.0)."
No. 86 Linebacker Dre Greenlaw
"Fred Warner is the superstar at linebacker for the 49ers, but Greenlaw has emerged as an excellent player in his own right alongside him. Greenlaw earned above-average PFF grades in every facet of play over the year and made 71 defensive stops including the playoffs, just one behind Warner."
