The San Francisco 49ers had an injury-riddled season this year, but they still managed to win 13 games and impress many with a trip to the NFC Divisional Round. While certain players were on the sidelines, others stood out, with Christian McCaffrey earning a Pro Bowl appearance, First Team All-Pro honors, and the Comeback Player of the Year Award.
To cap the 2025 season, PFF revealed its top 101 players for the 2025 season, and three 49ers made the list. So far, they’ve unveiled Nos. 40 to 101, with
the rest coming out later this week. Here was the grading criteria from PFF:
“This list is based solely on play in 2025. Past or future play is not accounted for. This isn’t about class or talent; it’s about performance throughout the 2025 NFL season. This list is created with an “all positions are created equal” mantra. So, you won’t see 32 quarterbacks heading the list, even though that is the game’s most valuable position. Instead, we take a look at how players performed relative to what is expected from their position.”
Brock Purdy was the first to crack the list, coming in at No. 81 despite playing in only nine games this season.
“Purdy missed a significant portion of the season, but he was outstanding when he was on the field for the 49ers,” PFF wrote. “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.”
Ahead of him was offensive tackle Colton McKivitz, who had one of the better years of his career and has slowly become an underrated piece for the 49ers. Still, he came in as San Francisco’s second-best player, according to PFF.
“The dominant ground-game blocker was one of four offensive tackles to earn a PFF run-blocking grade above 90.0 in 2025,” PFF wrote. “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.”
Unsurprisingly, Christian McCaffrey made the list, being the highest-ranked 49er at No. 54 following a year where he topped 2,000 scrimmage yards and had 17 touchdowns.
“If we were looking at McCaffrey as just a runner, he likely wouldn’t have made this list,” PFF wrote. “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.”
Other stars like George Kittle, Nick Bosa, and Fred Warner probably don’t crack the top 100 due to their injuries this season. But Trent Williams could make the list after playing well and being fully healthy this year. Apart from him, there likely aren’t any other 49ers on the list.
The final 20 players will be revealed on Friday.
