Story by
How ESPN's top-100 players of 2026 season differ from NFL's for 49ers players
- Story by
- How ESPN's top-100 players of 2026 season differ from NFL's for 49ers players
How ESPN's top-100 players of 2026 season differ from NFL's for 49ers players originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Six 49ers made both the NFL's official Top 100 Players list and ESPN's competing version for 2026 — but the two rankings tell noticeably different stories about who deserves the most trust heading into the season.
Advertisement
The biggest gap belongs to Christian McCaffrey . NFL players voted him all the way to No. 6 this summer, a stunning 67-spot jump from a year ago after his 2,126-yard, 17-touchdown Comeback Player of the Year campaign . ESPN's experts, in their own Top 100 rankings , were far more conservative, slotting McCaffrey at No. 29 — still a strong ranking, but a 23-spot gap from how his peers see him.
Fred Warner shows the opposite pattern. His own NFL peers dropped him all the way to No. 54 after a season-ending ankle injury cut his 2025 campaign short, seemingly weighing the missed time heavily. ESPN's panel went the other direction entirely, ranking Warner at No. 20 and crediting a full, healthy training camp as reason to expect him to reclaim his standing as the league's top off-ball linebacker .
Nick Bosa's situation is the most extreme divergence of all. His own peers left him off the NFL's list completely following his second career ACL tear , suffered in Week 3 of last season. ESPN's experts still ranked him at No. 55, pointing to his production before the injury — two sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in less than three games — and the addition of defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa as reason to expect more one-on-one wins once he returns.
The remaining three 49ers landed in reasonably similar territory on both lists. George Kittle was nearly identical — No. 46 on the NFL list, No. 47 on ESPN's — suggesting broad agreement on where he stands after his own Achilles recovery . Trent Williams (No. 40 NFL, No. 28 ESPN) and Brock Purdy (No. 85 NFL, No. 73 ESPN) each landed roughly a dozen spots higher on ESPN's version, a smaller but still notable gap in the same direction.
Advertisement
One 49er was left off both lists entirely: Mike Evans, whose ranking would have been worth watching given the crowded receiver room he now anchors alongside Deebo Samuel and rookie De'Zhaun Stribling.
