San Francisco 49ers: Best and Worst Players at Each Position Entering 2017

The San Francisco 49ers are going to need a lot of roster help this offseason. But let’s find a starting point and identify the best and worst players on the Niners roster heading into 2017.

A complete roster rebuild is on the table for the San Francisco 49ers this offseason.

While bereft of talent, the Niners situation isn’t entirely hopeless. The team will have plenty of cap space to hit free agency. The 49ers also own the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

And, surprisingly enough, San Francisco actually has a number of building blocks.

With all that in mind, who are the best and worst players at every position for the red and gold this offseason?

This is important because it gives us a jump-off point on determining how such a rebuild would go. In general, teams want to build around their best players. But the addition-by-subtraction argument often applies to those who are the worst on any given roster.

We’ll tackle the aforementioned question and identify one player who fits into each category for every position from last season. And we’ll take into consideration each player’s level of expectation too.

So while the 53rd player on a 53-man roster might not be very good, he won’t count here simply because the expectation level is so low.

It’s a little tough with special teams, but we’ll start there anyway.

Special Teams

Best Player: K Phil Dawson

Worst Player: P Bradley Pinion

We can get into coverage and returns here if we wanted, and the Niners aren’t particularly good there either. But let’s stick to the basics.

One could make the argument veteran kicker Phil Dawson was the team’s offensive MVP last season. And that’s saying something, both good and bad. At 41 years old, Dawson isn’t sure yet if he’ll retire this offseason. If not, he’ll be a free agent. Who knows if the 49ers elect to re-sign him.

Dawson missed just one of his 34 extra-point attempts last year. And he converted on 85.7 of his field-goal attempts. Not bad at all, considering his age.

On the other hand, it’s not entirely fair to lump third-year pro Bradley Pinion into the “worst” category. But his 44-yards-per-attempt average ranked 25th in the NFL. The guy he replaced, Andy Lee, ranked second in the league at 49.1 yards per attempt.

Field position has a lot to do with that, but it’s pretty evident San Francisco downgraded here.

Safety

Best Player: Antoine Bethea

Worst Player: Jaquiski Tartt

Veteran safety Antoine Bethea was one of the better defensive players for San Francisco last season. And he led the team with 95 tackles in a banged-up, lackluster defense in 2016.

Entering a contract year, the 32-year-old defensive back might not be a part of the Niners’ long-term plans though.

One guy who should be a part of those plans is third-year pro Jaquiski Tartt. The former second-round pick of the 2015 NFL Draft regressed his second season at the NFL level. And he never truly showed the versatility many were hoping for as a type of hybrid safety.

Tartt is still young though, so it’s not out of the question he’ll mature and develop. But it’s safe to say his 2016 campaign was fairly disappointing.

Cornerback

Best Player: Jimmie Ward

Worst Player: Keith Reaser

Three years into his NFL career, it’s safe to say the 49ers are getting a nice return on their 2014 first-round investment, defensive back Jimmie Ward.

Ward shifted almost exclusively to cornerback in 2016, and saw plenty of time in the nickel — a position he struggled with during his rookie season. And yet Pro Football Focus dished out a 75.8 overall grade for him, which was second in the Niners secondary.

Rookie corner Rashard Robinson could be on this list, but he faltered down the stretch. Again, young defensive backs tend to do this. So it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him mentioned once 2017 is said and done.

Keith Reaser, on the other hand, has been a major disappointment. And yet injuries to key positions in the secondary forced the Niners to rely on him more and more as the season wore on.

Outside Linebacker

Best Player: Eli Harold

Worst Player: Ahmad Brooks

It’s saying something when the 49ers best edge defender is linebacker Eli Harold.

Let’s cut him some slack though and hopes he uses the last two years at the pro level to turn into something decent in 2017.

One might think pass-rushing linebacker Aaron Lynch should be the Niners’ best player here. But with just 1.5 sacks registered in an injury/suspension-plagued season, Lynch’s 2016 campaign is nothing more than a disappointment.

Speaking of disappointments, veteran linebacker Ahmad Brooks comes in as the team’s worst at this position.

Yes, he was tied for the team lead in sacks last year (six). But aside from those numbers, Brooks was little more than a liability everywhere else.

He hits a contract year this season, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see San Francisco part ways to free up more cap space.

Inside Linebacker

Best Player: Gerald Hodges

Worst Player: Michael Wilhoite

Normally this would be a spot where we’d mention perennial All-Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman. But Bowman was hurt for most of the year, as was fellow ILB Ray-Ray Armstrong.

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But linebacker Gerald Hodges managed to make a positive impression on an otherwise bad 49ers front-seven defense. He ranked third on the team in tackles (52), managed three sacks and even had two interceptions to add to the mix.

All those efforts amounted to an 82.4 overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus, which ranked 19th out of 88 qualifying players.

On the flip side, Michael Wilhoite backed up a poor 2015 effort with an equally as disappointing campaign in 2016.

Wilhoite’s 2016 PFF grade was 38.5 — 84th on that list of 88.

Yeah, the Niners can certainly use some reinforcements on this list. Unless they want to finish dead last against the run again in 2017.

Defensive Line

Best Player: DeForest Buckner

Worst Player: Arik Armstead

Rookie defensive end DeForest Buckner was a no-brainer for this pick. He’s not only the best defensive lineman, but he’s likely the best cornerstone piece the 49ers have on the defensive side of the ball outside of linebacker NaVorro Bowman.

But fellow DE Arik Armstead was a major disappointment this year.

In fairness, Armstead’s lingering shoulder injury — the one that forced him on injured reserve just over the halfway mark into the season — plagued the 2015 first-round pick’s abilities to defend against the run.

And that certainly hurt San Francisco’s chances.

Is Armstead the worst player along the 49ers’ D-line? No. But his expectation level entering this season puts him in this spot on the list.

Offensive Line

Best Player: LT Joe Staley

Worst Player: LG Zane Beadles

Again, another no-brainer pick for the best player along the offensive line.

Veteran tackle Joe Staley is a shoo-in for this. And while he’s getting up there in age (32 years old), San Francisco can take comfort in him anchoring the left side of the O-line for the next couple of seasons.

There were a couple of choices insofar as the worst player though.

Sure, offensive guard Joshua Garnett’s rookie campaign was a disappointment. But he’s got plenty of room in which to grow. The same can’t exactly be said of left guard Zane Beadles, whose 40.2 overall Pro Football Focus grade earns him the worst player along the O-line from 2016.

Why hasn’t backup guard Andrew Tiller overtaken Beadles on the depth chart again?

Tight End

Best Player: Vance McDonald

Worst Player: Blake Bell

On one hand, tight end Vance McDonald had a career year before being hurt and landing on injured reserve. On the other, McDonald’s 2016 numbers weren’t particularly awe-inspiring:

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/13/2017.

The 49ers inked McDonald to an extension during the season, so he’ll have to be a part of the solution moving forward.

Yet former fourth-round pick Blake Bell hasn’t done much of anything to suggest he’ll be a factor.

With fellow TE Garrett Celek locking down the No. 2 spot on the depth chart, Bell’s best chance to stick around might be to make more of an impact on special teams.

Wide Receiver

Best Player: Jeremy Kerley

Worst Player: Torrey Smith

In all fairness to wide receiver Torrey Smith, former head coach Chip Kelly’s scheme wasn’t exactly the kind to put Smith’s best attributes to use.

Smith is a deep threat — a receiver who needs time to break away from coverage and spread the field. Kelly’s offense was predicated more on quick, well-timed throws. These didn’t allow Smith to get open as much as he did with the Baltimore Ravens some years ago.

And the numbers reflected it:

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/13/2017.

2016 marked a career-low season for Smith. As he’s signed in San Francisco for a while, the Niners better hope the next offensive game plan does more to feature him.

Slot receiver Jeremy Kerley was a pleasant surprise in 2016. He led all 49ers with 64 catches and 667 receiving yards on the season.

Kerley is a free agent, and the Niners could do worse than bring him back to fill a similar role this year.

Running Back

Best Player: Carlos Hyde

Worst Player: Mike Davis

No. 1 running back Carlos Hyde missed the 1,000-yard plateau by just 12 yards. And suffering a season-ending MCL sprain in Week 16 certainly eliminated any hopes for what would have been a career-setting year.

Hyde is still the bell cow of the offense — San Francisco’s lone offensive playmaker. He’ll need backup help moving forward though, so expect the Niners to bring aboard some competition this offseason.

That competition shouldn’t include third-year pro Mike Davis though.

Davis had a strong preseason, yes. But it ended there. After the 49ers gave him some early opportunities during the regular season, Davis wound up being a nearly weekly guest on San Francisco’s inactive list.

A whopping 2.6 yards per attempt is probably a major reason why.

Quarterback

Best Player: Colin Kaepernick

Worst Player: Blaine Gabbert

Ah, yes. The most obvious of the obvious.

Quarterback Blaine Gabbert was pretty awful in 2016. Awful enough to be benched in favor of Colin Kaepernick, who wasn’t entirely much better.

Yes, Kap was an upgrade. But just a marginal one. His completion percentage (59.2) was less than three points higher than Gabbert’s (56.9). Kaepernick did have a 16-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio though, which stands notably better than Gabbert’s five touchdown passes against six picks.

Still, Kaepernick is nothing like the quarterback he once was. But at least he was an upgrade and someone who seemed to perform better in former head coach Chip Kelly’s offense than the guy replaced under center.

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Regardless, San Francisco will likely be looking for another quarterback this offseason. It’s pretty clear neither Kaepernick nor Gabbert will be the answer, and both could easily be off the roster in 2017.

And like many other positions, the best players certainly wouldn’t be holding down the same accolade on a vast majority of other NFL teams.

Next: 10 Big-Name Free Agents the 49ers Should Target

Hence the reason why the Niners need some substantial upgrades this offseason.