49ers need star power to climb into playoff picture as they have in past years

The 49ers are a star-driven team, and their best players have contributed to a less-than-stellar 4-4 record at the bye week.

That doesn’t mean things won’t be better in the second half, as the 49ers were 3-5 in 2021, 4-4 at the bye in 2022 and sputtered into their week off at a tired 5-3 after three straight losses a year ago.

Take into account the mediocre quality of play in the NFC West, which could find the division champion with as few as nine wins, and the 49ers remain firmly in control of their destiny with nine games still to play.

The league-wide perception of the 49ers’ roster was highlighted in August when the NFL Network announced its Top 100 players as voted on by the players themselves. It’s mostly a fun exercise that carries no great significance and is good for the purposes of debate and argument.

Nine 49ers were included in the Top 100, the most in the league, and their production provides a mirror into a team with a .500 record. Here’s how the 49ers voted into the Top 100 have fared, as well as their prospects for a big second half and another playoff berth:

3. RB Christian McCaffrey

The NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year could start practicing on Monday after missing the first eight games with Achilles tendinitis in both legs. Only Tyreek Hill and Lamar Jackson were ranked ahead of him. Without McCaffrey, the 49ers are No. 2 in total offense at 412.4 yards per game.

Yet the 49ers are down nearly 20 percent to 48.6 percent scoring touchdowns in the red zone, ranked No. 27. McCaffrey’s presence as a goal-line runner and red-zone receiver (39 touchdowns in 33 games including playoffs) would seemingly make a huge difference if he’s a reasonable facsimile of what he was last season.

7. LT Trent Williams

After missing all of training camp due to a contract holdout, Williams, according to line coach/run game coordinator Chris Foerster, is even better than he was a year ago.

Whether that’s true or not at age 36, Williams remains the rock of the 49ers’ offensive line and routinely shows the agility to reach places on the field that others at his position can only dream of.

11. LB Fred Warner

Warner opened the season looking like a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. He’s got four forced fumbles, an interception returned for a touchdown and six passes defensed in addition to leading the 49ers with 56 tackles. He has been slowed of late with an ankle injury, but believes the bye week will do him good.

“The bye will help me tremendously,” Warner said after a 30-24 win over Dallas. “I keep banging it up, then finding a way to recover and play the next week. That’s just how the NFL is, man. It’s rare that you can just be healthy all the way through.”

14. TE George Kittle

A case could be made that if the 49ers’ first-half Most Valuable Player isn’t their quarterback, it’s their longest-tenured star tight end. Kittle leads the 49ers in receptions (40) and yards (503) and he has five touchdowns in the red zone for a team struggling to score points inside the 20.

Kittle, who was a rookie when coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch arrived, is also one of the best blocking tight ends in the business and his intangibles with regard to the 49ers’ culture are off the charts.

27. DE Nick Bosa

His sack total is meager at 4 1/2, although both the naked eye and game film show Bosa still playing like a Tasmanian Devil against both run and pass. The hard truth is Bosa has just 15 sacks in 25 games since signing a monster $170 million extension.

Getting home more often with game-changing sacks and forced fumbles will put Bosa back on the map in terms of national perception as opposed to his current viral social media standing as one of the most famous MAGA supporters.

28. QB Brock Purdy

Purdy had a poor game against Kansas City (three interceptions) and couldn’t prevent second-half collapses against the Rams and Cardinals. But he has passed for 2,101 yards, and has been without some of his primary offensive weapons.

With 42 rushes for 210 yards, Purdy has 22 rushing first downs — second only to Jordan Mason’s 30. That’s one more than Buffalo’s Josh Allen (21), 13 more than Patrick Mahomes (12) and only three fewer than Baltimore’s Jackson (25). On the verge of a mega contract extension, the 49ers will go as far a Purdy takes them.

30. WR Deebo Samuel

There’s no doubting Samuel’s heart and toughness. He has 24 receptions for 406 yards and a touchdown but is averaging only 2.9 yards per carry on 23 rushing attempts.

It sure looked like Samuel needed a bye against Dallas. Other than a long touchdown pass that was called back due to penalty, Samuel looked a half-step slower than usual and it’s leading to even more punishment for a player who is accustomed to giving it out more than taking it.

66. WR Brandon Aiyuk

Fortunately for Aiyuk, he got paid (four years, $120 million maximum) before tearing his ACL and MCL in a loss to Kansas City. He’s out for the year, and it may be well into next season or beyond when he’s back to the 2023 form that earned him all that money.

Aiyuk started slowly after missing all of the offseason and training camp and finished with just 25 receptions for 374 yards and no touchdowns. A big year for Aiyuk in terms of earnings, a lost season in terms of production.

76. LB Dre Greenlaw

You could make the argument that the 49ers’ luck turned for the worse with 9:16 to go in the second quarter in Super Bowl LVIII when Greenlaw tore his Achilles simply by running on to the field at Allegiant Stadium.

Greenlaw’s explosion and aggression have been compared to Mike Tyson by Shanahan. Greenlaw is expected to return in mid-to-late November. He has been sorely missed. When Greenlaw returns, then comes the process of trying to recapture his past form after an injury that has seen players have diminished returns and even ended careers.