No. 3: Left Tackle Joe Staley
Like Richard Sherman, Joe Staley has the name recognition and pedigree to earn top billing for Pro Bowl consideration. If selected, it would be his seventh.
Unlike his rookie counterpart, Mike McGlinchey, Staley hasn’t appeared on any Pro Football Focus top-tackle or offensive linemen lists this season. But that doesn’t take away the fact the 34-year-old veteran is still contributing at a high level and has shown no signs of letting up this deep into his career.
If there’s an argument to be made against Staley getting the vote, it’ll likely formulate from the issues the 49ers O-line has suffered in pass protection this year. The Niners have surrendered 31 sacks so far — fifth most in the NFL through 10 weeks. And while a good chunk of those were directly related to quarterback C.J. Beathard holding onto the ball for too long, the casual Pro Bowl voter can often take into account the number of sacks and assume Staley is just as big a part of the problem.
At the same time, San Francisco currently ranks fourth in total rush yardage (1,336), making household names out of previously unknown players like Matt Breida.
That’ll account for something.