The Franchise Player the 49ers Should Build Around for the Future

The 49ers still have a core of great players, but hardly any of them are ascending in their careers.

At 37, Trent Williams clearly is descending. And at 29, Christian McCaffrey probably is, too -- 29 is old for a running back, particularly one coming off bilateral Achilles' tendonitis and a torn PCL.

At 25, Brock Purdy should be ascending, but he's coming off the worst season of his career, during which he lost five of his last six starts. Now, he has to prove that the league hasn't caught up to him the way it caught up to Jimmy Garoppolo when he was the 49ers' starting quarterback. So, it's hard to say that Purdy is the 49ers' No. 1 building block.

Instead, Bleacher Report has given that honor to Nick Bosa even though he's coming off a down season as well.

"San Francisco 49ers pass-rusher Nick Bosa has seen his production decline in each of the past two years," writes Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox. "However, he's still one of the top edge-rushers in the league, is the cornerstone of the Niners defense and won't turn 28 until October.

"Bosa has made the Pro Bowl in each of his six seasons except for 2020, a year in which he tore his ACL after only two games. The 2019 Defensive Rookie of the Year and 2022 Defensive Player of the Year has recorded 62.5 career sacks and 165 quarterback hits while helping the 49ers reach two Super Bowls and four NFC title games.

"Besides, it's not as if Bosa's 'down' years have been all that bad. He had 10.5 sacks in 2023 and 9.0 sacks in 2024 while logging 81 QB pressures over those two campaigns."

Unfortunately for the 49ers, like most of their stars, Bosa probably isn't ascending, either. While he's still very good, his production has declined each of the past two years, and he missed three games with oblique injuries that bothered him for at least half the season.

Of all the stars on the 49ers, the only one who truly is ascending is 25-year-old cornerback Deommodore Lenoir. And he never has gone to a Pro Bowl, so it's hard to say he's a franchise cornerstone.

We'll see if one emerges this season.