49ers: Identifying the best player at each position after 10 games

San Francisco 49ers: Identifying the best player at each position after 10 games

SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 22: C.J. Beathard #3 of the San Francisco 49ers hands the ball off to Carlos Hyde #28 during their NFL game against the Dallas Cowboys at Levi's Stadium on October 22, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

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SANTA CLARA, CA – SEPTEMBER 21: Joe Staley #74 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after a play against the Los Angeles Rams during their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on September 21, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Offensive Line

Best Player: Left Tackle Joe Staley

There were three candidates to choose from here — left tackle Joe Staley, right tacke Trent Brown and right guard Brandon Fusco, who has quietly put forth a good season in his first year with the Niners.

But Staley gets the nod as the best offensive lineman thus far, and we can make this assessment based off the difference with Staley in and out of the lineup. A broken orbital bone around his eye forced Staley to miss Week 9 against the Arizona Cardinals, which forced the 49ers to shuffle the O-line quite a bit.

The results weren’t pretty, as the Cardinals managed five sacks and 16 quarterback hits. Staley returned the following week, albeit against a lesser New York Giants pass rush, but the O-line didn’t give up a sack and surrendered just two QB hits.

Quite a difference, for sure.

Staley remains the anchor for this unit despite being 33 years old.