Pro Football Focus kicked off its offseason full of player rankings this week with its "Top 101 players from the 2017 season" list. The ranking is based solely on a player's play during the 2017 season, regardless of position. While a quarterback may be viewed as more important than a tight end, a player's position is not factored in. However, the postseason is a factor in the ranking.
PFF has now revealed spots 26 through 101 with 1-25 scheduled to be released on Thursday. Two San Francisco 49ers, linebacker Reuben Foster and tackle Joe Staley, were in the bottom half of the ranking. Foster came in at No. 59 while Staley was ranked two spots later at No. 61.
One more 49ers player appeared in the listing when PFF revealed spots 26 through 50 on Wednesday morning. Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, who just completed his second NFL season, made his debut on the list coming in at No. 38.
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Sam Monson of PFF wrote the following about Buckner:
"DeForest Buckner has played a crazy amount of snaps over the past few seasons between NFL and college, but the 49ers dialed back his workload a little in 2017, and coincidentally or not, he produced his best season as a pro. Buckner generated plenty of pressure and while he only sacked the quarterback four times over the season, he led all interior defenders with 19 quarterback hits and was top six in combined sacks and hits. Buckner finished his 2017 season with impressive grades both as a pass-rusher and run defender."
PFF Elite Stat: Buckner ranked fifth among interior defenders with 53 total pressures.
Buckner started all 16 games for the 49ers in 2017 and ended up being the team's second-highest graded player (90.4) behind only Foster (90.7). He played 867 total snaps, which was second on defense (CB Dontae Johnson - 1,026), according to PFF. Buckner's 19 quarterback hits ranked first among interior defenders.
