PFF rankings – Syndication Server

49ers are bottom 10 at key position group according to PFF

The 49ers OL is not on track to be great according to Pro Football Focus, but it has a chance to be better than last year.

The San Francisco 49ers have the NFL’s best roster on paper.

Their group of offensive playmakers is unrivaled. They have a quarterback they believe is a franchise signal caller. They have one of the NFL’s best pass rushers, and the league’s best off-ball linebacker. Their secondary has also improved to the point that it might actually be better than the defensive line they’ve built their defense around.

One group stands out as a weak point for the 49ers, however, and it shows in the Pro Football Focus offensive line rankings.

PFF ranked all 32 offensive lines heading into the 2024 season and the 49ers landed in the bottom 10 at No. 24 overall. Via PFF:

While the 49ers’ offensive line features a future Hall of Famer and arguably the best offensive lineman of the past few years in Trent Williams, those around him have so far failed to impress. The rest of the offensive line consists of either career journeymen, such as center Jake Brendel and right guard Jon Feliciano, or young offensive linemen who the 49ers hope can improve in 2024, such as Aaron Banks and Colton McKivitz.

It should be noted up front that Feliciano is on Injured Reserve and decidedly not the team’s starting right guard this season. Had they included rookie Dominick Puni there instead the ranking actually might have fallen some.

Puni is part of the tipping point for what this group can be for the 49ers. The third-round pick out of Kansas stepped into the starting lineup early in camp and never relinquished his first-team reps. His arrow is pointing up, which is a welcome sight for the 49ers since they struggled to find consistency at RG the last couple years.

Banks will certainly need to improve, and McKivitz will need to be better in his second full season as a starter.

The good news is the 49ers should be fine even if the OL is just a little better in 2024. They made a run to the Super Bowl last year in a season where they had both Banks and Williams out for periods of time. They also had to do their shuffling at RG to get that position right.

San Francisco has managed without an elite OL throughout head coach Kyle Shanahan’s tenure. This year they’ll need to do more of the same.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Steelers land in Top 10 of PFF defensive line rankings

The Steelers defensive front is among the best in the NFL again this season.

Historically, the strength of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense has been upfront. Stout, versatile defensive linemen who can move around their 3-4 front and edge defenders who can rush the passer, drop into coverage and set the edge.

Pro Football Focus ranked all 32 NFL defensive lines and for the Steelers, they have them at No. 8 based on last season. Here’s what they had to say about their ranking of the Steelers:

T.J. Watt is one of the most consistent playmakers in the league when it comes to pass-rushers, and he’s not a one-man-band on this defensive line. Alex Highsmith on the other side has developed into an outstanding player in his own right, earning a 90.3 PFF grade last season with 69 quarterback pressures.

Cameron Heyward has been outstanding for so long, but last season was the first sign that perhaps age is catching up with him. If he bounces back, the Steelers will be even better than this ranking.

While we agree that Heyward may not return to form this season after his injury and age but we are definitely not going to bet against him. Especially with a new contract in the mix. You add in Keeanu Benton with another year under his belt and this group has a chance to be special and far outplay this ranking.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Dre Greenlaw absence glaring in PFF LB rankings for 2024

Fred Warner is No. 1 in the PFF LB rankings for 2024. The bigger takeaway is Dre Greenlaw’s absence.

Pro Football Focus is dolling out its positional rankings for the 2024 season. The 49ers are typically well-represented atop these rankings, and the linebacker list is no exception. Fred Warner is the No. 1-ranked off-ball LB in the sport according to the football analytics site. Warner is undeniably important to the 49ers’ defense and he is rightfully placed atop the list. What’s more important for San Francisco is the absence of LB Dre Greenlaw in the rankings.

This isn’t to say that PFF should’ve ranked Greenlaw. He tore his Achilles during the Super Bowl in February which puts serious doubt on if/when he’ll be able to participate in the 2024 campaign. Greenlaw is ambitiously aiming for a Week 1 return, while 49ers general manager John Lynch is of the belief Greenlaw will start the season on PUP. Whether the LB suits up at all is certainly still a question as his recovery from the injury continues. Not ranking him is the right move for a list looking to curate the top 32 players at the position for the 2024 season.

What his absence from the list does is underscore the hole he leaves in the 49ers’ defense. It won’t be easy to replace his production. That was abundantly clear in the Super Bowl when the Chiefs took advantage of Greenlaw’s replacement Oren Burks for a handful of key receptions late in the game.

The good news is the 49ers appear to have added an upgraded at LB when they signed free agent De’Vondre Campbell. He was an All-Pro in 2021 and earned PFF’s highest overall grade among regular off-ball LBs. Campbell is still a good player, but not playing at an All-Pro level after two up-and-down seasons for Green Bay in 2022 and 2023.

There’s a chance getting Campbell into the 49ers’ defense and playing alongside Warner will help him elevate his game back toward where it was in 2021. That alone would do wonders for mitigating the loss of Greenlaw.

San Francisco also has a couple of younger options with 2023 draft picks Dee Winters and Jalen Graham. Lynch actually invoked Greenlaw’s name when talking about Winters after the draft.

While there are some options hanging out on the roster, finding an adequate replacement for Greenlaw isn’t going to be an easy task. He was ranked 21st in overall defensive grade among LBs last season for PFF. The year before that he ranked No. 8 in that category.

Greenlaw is a terrific athlete who is a tone-setter on the 49ers’ defense (though sometimes to his detriment). He’s an aggressive, downhill run stopper who has enough speed to play in coverage against virtually any player who’ll be in a route in his area. Alongside Warner they make up the best LB duo in the NFL on a defense that has made a living out of taking away easy throws in the middle of the field thanks to their high-IQ, athletic LBs.

The 49ers defense is still plenty talented and they should be very good again in 2024, but they’re undeniably worse when Greenlaw isn’t on the field. His absence from PFF’s LB rankings only drive that reality home.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

PFF’s tight end rankings: Chargers’ Hayden Hurst makes the cut

Hayden Hurst was recognized as one of the top 32 tight ends in the NFL.

Even after upgrading the tight end position, the Chargers still don’t have a bonafide No. 1. However, one of the additions is worthy of being recognized among the top 32 in the NFL.

Pro Football Focus released their rankings and recognized Hayden Hurst as the No. 30 overall TE.

Hurst has bounced around the league the past four years and hopes to stay healthy in 2024 after missing the second half of 2023. After earning career highs in catches and yards in 2022, Hurst will look to bounce back in Los Angeles.

Hurst has been a bit of a journeyman. This will be his fifth team since entering the league in 2018. He was initially drafted by the Ravens, spending two years with them, two with the Falcons and a season apiece with the Bengals (2022) and Panthers (2023).

Hurst’s best season came with Atlanta, where he caught 56 passes for 571 yards and six touchdowns — all career-highs.

When he played under offensive coordinator Greg Roman during his two-season stint with Baltimore, Hurst finished with his highest yards per reception marks of his career, 12.5 and 11.6, respectively.

While his fellow teammate Will Dissly will be used more as a blocker, the Chargers hope to get Hurst to produce in the passing department this season.

Bears’ Braxton Jones, Darnell Wright make PFF’s list of top NFL offensive tackles

Both starting offensive tackles cracked PFF’s top 32 players at the position heading into the 2024 season.

The Chicago Bears spent the offseason overhauling their offense, from drafting quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze to acquiring veterans such as wide receiver Keenan Allen and running back D’Andre Swift. While the skill positions were upgraded, general manager Ryan Poles chose to maintain the status quo with most of the offensive line, specifically at the tackle position.

While many fans wanted to see an upgrade, one NFL analyst believes both Bears starting tackles can be considered near the top of the position rankings.

Zoltán Buday of Pro Football Focus (PFF) recently released his top 32 offensive tackles heading into the 2024 season, and both Bears starting tackles just barely cracked the list. Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright came in at No. 31 and 32, respectively, making the Bears one of nine teams to have both of their tackles listed. Here is what Buday had to say about Jones:

A fifth-round pick out of Southern Utah in 2022, Jones proved in 2023 that his impressive rookie season was not a fluke. Although he was slowed down by an injury and had a bit of a decline from his 2022 season, he is still one of 24 offensive tackles to have earned pass-blocking grades over 70.0 in each of the last two seasons.

And Wright:

The only second-year player on this list, Wright’s 66.0 run-blocking grade ranked first among his rookie class. In addition, he was also promising in pass protection toward the second half of the season after going through some growing pains in the first month. After giving up one sack in each of his first five games in the NFL, the former Tennessee Volunteer allowed just three sacks in his final 12 games.

The Bears invested a first-round pick in Wright, who was selected with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. As Buday points out, he’s the only player from his draft class to be included in this list, beating out the likes of Paris Johnson Jr., Broderick Jones, and Dawand Jones. Wright started all 17 games of his rookie season and has a bright future ahead of him.

As for Jones, many wondered if Poles would look to upgrade at the left tackle position this offseason. The 2022 fifth-round pick has been solid, but with players such as Joe Alt and Olu Fashanu available in this year’s draft, it seemed possible the Bears could move off Jones in favor of someone else. Poles chose to go in a different direction, however, meaning Jones gets to keep his starting spot as he continues to develop.

At first glance, seeing both Bears tackles at the very bottom of the list might not move the needle for fans. Seeing as there are 64 starting offensive tackles in the league, Jones and Wright are essentially considered average players at their position at this point in their careers. But on the other hand, they’re both still young and ascending. Plus, having two capable tackles is a far cry from what this offensive line looked like just a couple of years ago. With the additions at the other positions, the Bears offense is shaping up to be a solid unit in 2024.

Bucs have five players listed in PFF’s top 100 free agents

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had quite a few standouts in 2023, and the rest of the league will keep a close eye on their free agents come March.

Free agents for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to be highly rated across the NFL.

Pro Football Focus released their top 200 free agents on Monday, and five Tampa Bay Buccaneers players not only made the cut, but were featured in the top 75 players. Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was ranked the highest at No. 8, followed by wide receiver Mike Evans (No. 13), linebacker Lavonte David (No. 39), linebacker Devin White (No., 73) and quarterback Baker Mayfield (No. 75).

Here’s what they had to say about Winfield Jr., who is their sixth-highest defensive free agent on the list:

“Winfield can line up in the box, take on receivers in the slot and play as a roaming deep-third free safety, finding success in single-high and two-high coverage shells. The former second-round pick is a difference-maker on the backend, and his remarkable versatility carries value at a position that appreciates it more than perhaps any other.”

Winfield Jr. is a likely candidate for a franchise tag coming up, so it’s likely he remains with the Bucs. Mayfield, too, has strong links to Tampa Bay, and although he’ll likely test free agency, a stable team after his hectic 2022 and stability with new offensive coordinator Liam Coen are likely to woo him back to the Bucs. Unless a very small deal could be reached, White is the most likely of the group to leave, as he’s vastly underplayed his worth the past few years.

Evans and David are somewhat more complicated. While it’s hard to imagine David playing anywhere else if he does intend to play in 2024, he could still end up retiring. Evans will likely favor Tampa Bay in negotiations in free agency, but a team that could offer him above market value may be enough to lure him away if the Bucs don’t match of get in the ballpark of a big offer.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1364]

Tag: PFF rankings

49ers are bottom 10 at key position group according to PFF

Steelers land in Top 10 of PFF defensive line rankings

Dre Greenlaw absence glaring in PFF LB rankings for 2024

PFF’s tight end rankings: Chargers’ Hayden Hurst makes the cut

Bears’ Braxton Jones, Darnell Wright make PFF’s list of top NFL offensive tackles

Bucs have five players listed in PFF’s top 100 free agents

Texas DT T’Vondre Sweat among PFF’s top 10 college football players in 2023

Jonathon Brooks leads all Power Five running backs in missed tackles forced

Top performing Longhorns from the Houston win per PFF

Ranking the top Big 12 running backs by PFF grade