There's no way around it: the 2024 San Francisco 49ers did not have a good season.
So on that level, it likely seems like a minor quibble to say that players who were recognized for All-Pro teams were incorrectly placed. For a team that finished 6-11, it should be grateful for any postseason accolades at all.
Still, when the Associated Press announced its NFL All-Pro teams, its inclusion of three Niners was notable. Linebacker Fred Warner collected 117 total votes and 36 first-place votes, good enough to land him his fourth first-team All-Pro honor and third straight.
Warner was the only 49ers player to make the first team, though, while tight end George Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk were named to second team, with both players receiving 88 total votes (22 first place). For Kittle, this is his fifth All-Pro honor and third second-team selection; for Juszczyk, this is only the second time he's been named to either team, after receiving his first All-Pro honor in 2023.
At tight end, Kittle was beaten out by Las Vegas Raiders rookie Brock Bowers, while the Niners' fullback/offensive weapon was overtaken by the Baltimore Ravens' veteran, Patrick Ricard.
But there's a case to be made that the voters got it wrong in both cases.
This isn't to deny the excellent rookie season that Bowers put up, especially when you take into account the poor quarterback play he was getting in Las Vegas between the revolving door of Gardner Winshew, Aidan O'Connell, and Desmond Ridder.
Bowers finished his first NFL campaign with 112 catches (on 153 targets) for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns in 17 games, as he quickly became the focal point of the Raiders' offense, especially after the midseason trade of wide receiver Davante Adams to the New York Jets.
By comparison, Kittle ended the 2024 season with 78 receptions (on 94 targets) for 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns in just 15 games, his fourth season eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards on the season. This doesn't even take into account his exceptional work as a blocker in the passing and running game, something Kittle prides himself on.
The combination of Kittle being more of a complete tight end than Bowers and the Raiders' force-feeding the ball to their rookie pass catcher (wide receiver Jacobi Meyers was second on the team in targets with 129 followed by Tre Tucker with 81) suggests that Kittle did more with his fewer opportunities while also contributing in other ways outside of just catching the ball.
In a bit of irony, the reverse is the case for why voters got it wrong at fullback.
Patrick Ricard was targeted just five times as a receiver for Baltimore, catching three passes for 22 yards and one touchdown. He did not run the ball at all for the run-heavy Ravens offense.
Compared to that, Juszczyk is a veritable ball hog. The 49ers' fullback was targeted 31 times, catching 19 balls for 200 yards and two touchdowns, while carrying the ball five times for 26 additional yards and another score.
Based on that alone, it makes no sense as to why Ricard would be the selection for the first team. The choice, then, must be based on Ricard's contributions as a blocker to a rushing attack that led the NFL in rushing yards with 3,189 yards, good for 5.8 per carry.
And while those numbers are eye-popping, it probably gives too much credit to a player who only played 39 percent of Baltimore's offensive snaps, while Juice was on the field for 50 percent of the 49ers' offensive plays, due to his ability to play as a traditional fullback and line up as a tight end or even out wide on occassion.
The main issue is that voters appear of two minds in choosing Bowers over Kittle and then Ricard over Juszczyk. Should stats outweigh contributions beyond them or vice versa?
In the case of tight end and fullback, it doesn't look like they made a clear distinction.
Yes, it is strange to make a big deal of this given the poor state of the 49ers' season, but the Raiders were worse than the Niners in 2024, so that shouldn't really matter at all.
The voters got it wrong in these cases and should have rewarded both Kittle and Juszczyk with first-team All-Pro nods for their excellent seasons.