The 49ers aren’t an old team, but their list of young talent is getting thinner. San Francisco for a couple years was featured heavily in lists of the top 25 players under the age of 25. This year’s iteration of that list from Pro Football Focus featured zero 49ers. While that won’t necessarily matter this season, it’s something that could have an impact down the road.
It should be noted at the top that changing the wording on the list and expanding the criteria to 25-and-under would put the 49ers firmly in the mix with Dre Greenlaw, Brandon Aiyuk and Nick Bosa all checking in at 25-years old.
PFF’s list sticks with players under that 25-year mark. It’s hard to argue with the 49ers being shutout, although Talanoa Hufanga was a First-Team All-Pro last year at strong safety and he’s still 23. Beyond that players like Brock Purdy, Deommodore Lenoir and Drake Jackson haven’t done enough to earn their way into that top 25 list.
San Francisco’s bread and butter for now is going to be players like George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey and Fred Warner – all of whom are over 25. There’s also that group of players who are exactly 25.
Having a bunch of good players under 25 isn’t easy, but the 49ers would love to see a handful of their young players play well enough in 2023 to get into the top 25 under 25 list next year. Purdy, Lenoir and Jackson could all be in the mix. Rookies like safety Ji’Ayir Brown could also get into the conversation of he plays well in his first year.
If they all play well enough this year to find their way into the top 25 under 25 conversation next year, the 49ers will have a really good chance to make another deep playoff run on the strength of their young players supplementing a deep group of more seasoned vets.
