Feb. 21, 2026, 10:42 a.m. PT
The San Francisco 49ers battled through some rough conditions in 2025 to go 12-5 in the regular season and to upset the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
While San Francisco was defeated in the divisional round and watched their division rivals, the Seattle Seahawks, win a Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium, some of Kyle Shanahan’s players still deserve to be celebrated for their success this past year.
This past week, Pro Football Focus has been slowly releasing its list of the top 101 players from the 2025 season, and five 49ers made the cut. Let’s take a look at who they were and where they ranked.
QB Brock Purdy – No. 81
“Purdy missed a significant portion of the season, but he was outstanding when he was on the field for the 49ers. His 82.6 PFF passing grade ranked sixth among quarterbacks, while his 75.7 PFF rushing grade ranked eighth. He was especially effective when getting the ball out within 2.5 seconds. On those plays, Purdy earned an 87.7 PFF overall grade, which ranked fifth in the NFL, and his 118.6 passer rating ranked third.”
Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.RT Colton McKivitz – No. 63
“The dominant ground-game blocker was one of four offensive tackles to earn a PFF run-blocking grade above 90.0 in 2025. He wasn’t quite as effective as a pass blocker, but his 72.6 PFF pass-blocking grade was still good enough to rank 31st among 75 offensive tackles who played at least 400 snaps in 2025.”
RB Christian McCaffrey – No. 54
“If we were looking at McCaffrey as just a runner, he likely wouldn’t have made this list. He earned just a 66.3 PFF rushing grade (60th among running backs) in 2025. He was, however, the best receiving back in football, leading all players at the position with a 91.7 PFF receiving grade and racking up 1,029 receiving yards in the regular season and playoffs.”
TE George Kittle – No. 27
“Kittle played only 567 snaps this year while battling a hamstring injury, his lowest volume since 2020. But when on the field, the 49ers star was as dominant as ever with a 90.7 PFF overall grade. Kittle was unstoppable in the receiving game with a position-best 91.0 PFF receiving grade and 2.11 yards per route run, also hauling 11 of 14 contested targets.”
LT Trent Williams – No. 20
“Despite being 37 years old for the entirety of the 2025 season, Williams was still one of the best left tackles in football. His 91.1 PFF overall grade ranked third among all offensive tackles and first among left tackles. His 80.3 PFF pass-blocking grade ranked tied for eighth, and his 92.0 PFF run-blocking grade placed second.”
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