A San Francisco 49ers team that got off to a staggered start last season landed six players in the Pro Bowl. Can this year’s squad — which also was uneven to begin the season — surpass that number? If so, it will mean at least one player will be making his first Pro Bowl.

We’re aware that many 49ers fans tend to be straight-ticket voters when it comes to the Pro Bowl. We endeavored to be as discerning as possible in categorizing which players are locks and which have a fight on their hands. What is the outside perception? Is the player a household name? What’s the level of competition at his position?

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Fan voting begins Monday and runs through Dec. 25. That constitutes a third of the vote with players and coaches making up the other two-thirds.

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The locks

RB Christian McCaffrey

The 49ers running back didn’t make the Pro Bowl last season, at least not the initial list. He was named an alternate. This year, he seems like San Francisco’s top candidate. McCaffrey leads the league with 825 rushing yards, which is 134 more than the second place rusher, Raheem Mostert (Miami Dolphins). McCaffrey’s also received a lot of attention, local and nationwide, for his touchdowns streak, which ended in Week 10 in Jacksonville. He started a new one the following week and his 14 scores this season lead the NFL.

FB Kyle Juszczyk

Juszczyk is far and away the best known player at the little-known — and little-utilized — fullback position. He’s made the Pro Bowl in each of the last seven seasons and doesn’t appear as if he’s slowed down at age 32. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s often leading the way for the league’s top rusher or that the 49ers rank sixth in rushing (and third in the NFC). Juszczyk already has scored two touchdowns this season after scoring one in each of the last two seasons.

OT Trent Williams

The veteran left tackle is so dominant that some opponents turn tail and run and run away at the sight of him, which is what Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Darious Williams appeared to do during a Week 10 encounter. Williams isn’t at the top of this list because he missed two games with an ankle injury and played injured in a third. But even that string of games underscored how valuable he is to the 49ers. The team lost all three of those contests. It’s noteworthy that both Williams and Nick Bosa received votes in the “best player” category of The Athletic’s anonymous player poll.

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LB Fred Warner

The 49ers’ middle linebacker practiced juggling throughout the summer in an effort to improve his hand-eye coordination. It paid off. Warner’s three interceptions put him in a tie with Talanoa Hufanga for the team lead. His interception count already is a career high and he seems poised to establish personal bests in sacks, forced fumbles and pass breakups this season, too. Warner’s not just the captain of the defense, he’s the most vocal — and by far the most energetic — leader on the team, the guy in charge of the team’s pulse from training camp through the playoffs.

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TE George Kittle

Yes, he got off to a slow start and had two games in which he was limited to a single catch. But Kittle’s been making up ground ever since, including 25 catches for 432 yards and two touchdowns in the last four games. Kittle’s 648 receiving yards rank second only to the Minnesota Vikings’ T.J. Hockenson among NFL tight ends. Kittle and Hockenson were the NFC’s Pro Bowl tight ends last season.

The definite maybes

QB Brock Purdy

I think Purdy should make it. You think Purdy should make it. The 49ers think Purdy should make it, strongly so. The question is whether the rest of the country and the rest of the league appreciate what he’s done since taking over as starter or instead still think of him as merely a plucky underdog who’s lucky to be part of such a talented team. Remember, The Athletic’s annual Quarterback Tiers, which polls NFL coaches and executives, placed Purdy in Tier 4 at the beginning of the season.

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Three quarterbacks will make the NFC’s first-team roster with Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles) — a Pro Bowler last year who also finished second in MVP voting — likely taking one of the spots. That leaves two more openings for Purdy, Jared Goff (Detroit Lions), Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys) and others. Purdy sure seems like the best choice among that group considering he leads the league in completion percentage, yards per attempt and passer rating. If the voters agree, he’d become the first 49ers quarterback to make the Pro Bowl since Jeff Garcia in 2002.

DE Nick Bosa

He probably will make the Pro Bowl based on name recognition alone (see the note about “best player” above). And Bosa’s playmaking ability — forcing a fumble and an interception in Jacksonville, making life miserable for Baker Mayfield — have been on full display in recent weeks. However, his uncharacteristically low sack count — 5 1/2 — could give some voters pause. Bosa ranks 29th in the NFL in that category, which means he’s behind a slew of NFC pass rushers, including new teammate Chase Young, who has 6 1/2 on the season.

WR Brandon Aiyuk

Aiyuk is off to the best season of his career and is averaging more than 6 more yards per reception than he had last season when he finished with 1,015 yards. The only reason he’s not a Pro Bowl shoo-in is that there are four NFC wide receivers who have more receiving yards than him: A.J. Brown (Eagles), CeeDee Lamb (Cowboys), Amon-Ra St. Brown (Lions) and Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams). Brown, Lamb and St. Brown also have more touchdowns. A strong game on national television in Seattle could vault Aiyuk over the top.

The outside shots

S George Odum

He’s got a good shot at being the NFC’s special teams designee. Odum leads the NFC with 10 special teams tackles.

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CB Charvarius Ward

The 49ers’ top cornerback has given up just two touchdown passes and opposing quarterbacks have a lowly 75.8 passer rating when targeting him. Ward also had a big interception on national television in Minnesota (though he also gave up an even bigger touchdown on national television in Minnesota).

C Jake Brendel

In his favor: Brendel is the epicenter of one of the league’s top offenses and opposing players and coaches respect him enough to have helped make him a Pro Bowl alternate last year. Going against him: Jason Kelce (Eagles) and Frank Ragnow (Lions) were the NFC’s two centers a year ago and both are having strong seasons this year.

(Top photo of Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy and Trent Williams:
Michael Zagaris / San Francisco 49ers / Getty Images)

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