San Francisco 49ers: Expectations for the 5 Best Players in 2016 Season

The San Francisco 49ers don’t necessarily have a ton of talent across the board as the 2016 NFL season draws near. But there are more than a few good players who are expected to make a notable impact. Niner Noise takes a look at the five best players on the team’s roster and breaks down expectations for each over the upcoming year.

2016 will be a very difficult year to accurately assess what will happen for the San Francisco 49ers.

The team is coming off a 5-11 finish, is still reeling from the mass exodus of talent prior to the 2015 season, has a completely new coaching staff and is going through an influx of young and yet-to-be proven talent rising up through the ranks.

Almost every team, no matter how bereft of talent it may be, has its best players. And the Niners are no exception. There are some guys around which San Francisco can, and should, build moving forward.

Fans can expect players like linebacker NaVorro Bowman, defensive end Arik Armstead, defensive back Jimmie Ward and pass-rushing linebacker Aaron Lynch to be key figureheads and cornerstones moving forward. There’s no surprise in that. But what are the expectations of San Francisco’s best players?

In this slideshow, we break down the five most-important and best players on the Niners roster. To formulate the top five, we’ll use Pro Football Focus‘ (subscription required) 2015 overall grades to accumulate the list.

PFF may not be perfect, but it still is a pretty good tool to evaluate a player’s impact — both the good and the bad.

This will negate the 49ers’ new class of rookies. We won’t try to blend collegiate- and pro-level PFF rankings. Let’s stick with the carryover from 2015 instead.

According to PFF, San Francisco’s best players were as follows:

1. DT Ian Williams, plus-24.4 overall
2. OT Joe Staley, plus-21.5 overall
3. DE Arik Armstead, plus-15.1 overall
4. OLB Aaron Lynch, plus-14.6 overall
5. DE Tank Carradine, plus-7.5 overall

Defensive end, turned EDGE Tank Carradine may be a bit of a surprise here. And everyone knows Bowman’s role is far more important than Carradine’s, right?

True, so let’s swap out Carradine for Bowman on this list (even though Bowman finished 2015 with a minus-2.5 overall grade.

Who knows, maybe Carradine will be the talk of the Niners defense after switching from DE to more of an edge-rusher this season.

Next: ILB NaVorro Bowman

Linebacker NaVorro Bowman

2015 PFF Grades:

• Overall: minus-2.5
• Run Defense: plus-9.0
• Pass Rush: minus-0.5
• Pass Coverage: minus-10.6

It might be somewhat of a shocker to see linebacker NaVorro Bowman’s PFF grades come in at a negative last season, especially when considering his NFL-leading 116 tackles earned him a Pro Bowl nod and selection as a first-team All-Pro.

But keep in mind Bowman was a liability in coverage last season, which also shouldn’t be a surprise given 2015 was his first season back after his gruesome 2014 knee injury.

The full year of football activities under his belt should only be a bonus, and there are few reasons to expect anything but an even better season in front of him.

To start, Bowman was recognized as one of the league’s top-100 players entering 2016. That’s quite an accolade.

And there isn’t much of a question regarding his role as a leader, not only on the defensive side of the ball, but within the entire locker room.

Barring injury setbacks, one of the only reasons for concern will be whether or not Bowman can get some help from the remainder of San Francisco’s linebacker corps. The inside position is of the utmost curiosity. The Niners didn’t draft an inside linebacker in 2016, so the position alongside Bowman could be occupied by Michael Wilhoite, Gerald Hodges or even Ray-Ray Armstrong.

For the record, both Wilhoite and Hodges graded out negatively last season, per PFF.

Bowman can’t do it all, but he can certainly do a lot. And to suggest he’ll build upon an All-Pro campaign is a very scary thing for opposing teams.

Next: OLB Aaron Lynch

Linebacker Aaron Lynch

2015 PFF Grades:

• Overall: plus-14.6
• Run Defense: plus-2.2
• Pass Rush: plus-11.0
• Pass Coverage: plus-2.0

Outside linebacker Aaron Lynch may have been the 49ers’ best all-around player on defense last season, and he was the only Niners defender to rank in the positive out of all the aforementioned categories.

Lynch was tied with fellow linebacker Ahmad Brooks for the team lead in sacks last season (6.5) and, at 23 years old, it’s safe to say there is plenty of room for breakout potential.

Pat O’Holloway of Niners Nation broke down why Lynch hasn’t even come close to reaching his ceiling:

"If Lynch continues to improve and work on introducing more ways to beat linemen, the sky is the limit for this guy. He came in very raw and made an impact (being a steal of a pick in 2014). 2016 will be a big test for Lynch. Let’s see if and what new moves he brings to the table to move forward."

To think, Lynch was one of only a handful of bona fide pass-rushing threats the Niners had last season. Opposing defenses knew Lynch was the one pass-rusher they had to monitor, which made scheming against him that much easier.

And he still managed to grade out very positively.

Now, the 49ers have complemented Lynch and the pass rush with an upgraded defensive line — pocket-wrecking forces like defensive ends Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner.

This should make life for Lynch much, much easier as opponents’ offensive lines will have to contend with more than just one or two guys collapsing the pocket. More lanes should be available, which gives Lynch a chance to truly break out in 2016.

Speaking of Armstead…

Next: DE Arik Armstead

Defensive End Arik Armstead

2015 PFF Grades:

• Overall: plus-15.1
• Run Defense: plus-6.4
• Pass Rush: plus-8.3
• Pass Coverage: 0.0

San Francisco’s first-round investment from 2015 came on strong towards the latter half of the season, despite being touted as a raw and underdeveloped prospect with a big upside.

Defensive end Arik Armstead may be even more of a force this season, especially after being paired with his former University of Oregon teammate DeForest Buckner — another first-round DE the Niners took the subsequent year.

This should give you a good idea what the 6’7″, 296-pound force is capable of doing:

Armstead likely won’t be a natural pass-rusher or someone who can regularly take down opposing quarterbacks, although he did register 30 quarterback hurries last season, per PFF.

Instead, Armstead is a pocket-wrecking force. It will be his job to lock up offensive linemen at the line of scrimmage, throw off protection schemes and open up lanes for San Francisco’s crop of pass-rushers to converge.

Now, with Buckner in the mix, Armstead could see an even stronger season as one of the more prolific players on the Niners defense.

Next: OT Joe Staley

Offensive Tackle Joe Staley

2015 PFF Grades:

• Overall: plus-21.5
• Pass Blocking: plus-8.6
• Run Blocking: plus-7.5
• Penalty: plus-2.4

Veteran left tackle Joe Staley remains the 49ers’ best offensive lineman entering 2016. At 31 years old, Staley’s age may start to be a bit of a concern in coming seasons but, for now, signs still point to him being a stalwart on San Francisco’s offensive line.

After all, Staley’s efforts last season — a year which saw him rank as the only O-lineman on the team’s roster to grade out positively in each of the aforementioned PFF categories — earned him his fifth consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl.

The rest of the 49ers O-line has some question marks. After being relegated as one of the biggest weaknesses the Niners had last year, San Francisco elected to make some changes outside of Staley and center Daniel Kilgore. Free-agent guard Zane Beadles was added to the mix, and the 49ers added rookie linemen Joshua Garnett, Fahn Cooper and John Theus.

We’ll have to see how this group, along with likely starting right tackle Trent Brown, jells this offseason. Chemistry among O-lines is of the utmost importance.

Fortunately, Staley seemed to be one of the beneficiaries of a zone-blocking scheme last year, as his numbers suggest, and he’ll experience more of the same under head coach Chip Kelly in 2016.

Protecting the 49ers quarterback’s blind side — whoever the QB may be this season — is a top priority, and Staley remains the best option to fit the bill.

Next: DT Ian Williams

Nose Tackle Ian Williams

2015 PFF Grades

• Overall: plus-24.4
• Run Defense: plus-23.9
• Pass Rush: 0.0
• Pass Coverage: 0.0

Yes, nose tackle Ian Williams was the Niners’ best-rated player, according to PFF, for his efforts in 2015.

The plus-24.4 mark stood the highest out of anyone on the team’s 53-man roster a year ago, and the 49ers wanted to be certain they retained Williams’ services entering 2016. But a failed physical — the result of a lingering ankle injury and subsequent procedure — forced a long-term deal into a mere one-year contract.

Williams’ health has always been the major knock against his services. 2015 marked the first season in the 26-year-old defensive tackle’s five-year pro career in which he played all 16 regular-season games.

When healthy, Williams is one of the best run-stuffing defensive linemen upon which the Niners can count. But the key phrase is when he is healthy.

According to Matt Fitzgerald of Bleacher Report, Williams’ Week 1 status for the upcoming season is in doubt:

"Since the 49ers likely have a rebuilding season in 2016 anyway, there’s little reason to rush Williams back. His absence may also create more opportunities for last year’s first-round pick, Arik Armstead, to make an impact in the trenches. The bigger question, though, is who would take Williams’ place at the difficult position of nose tackle if he can’t go in Week 1. Ourlads.comlists Mike Purcell, a 2013 undrafted free agent out of Wyoming, as the next man up."

Fortunately, the 49ers now have amicable depth along the D-line in order to shore up any absence Williams may experience. Fellow defensive tackle Quinton Dial can play the nose position, which would allow rookie end DeForest Buckner to see an increased role his first year.

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Injuries and recovery will be the prime focus points for Williams in 2016. If he can stay healthy, there’s little reason to assume he won’t make a substantial impact for San Francisco’s defense.

It’s a contract year as well, so there will be added motivation for Williams to perform at the highest possible level in order to earn a long-term deal from San Francisco, or another team,  in 2017.

Next: Projecting the 49ers 2016 53-Man Roster

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.