4 players who did not make the Pro Bowl in 2025, but could in 2026

These players are ascending.

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The San Francisco 49ers only had four position players make the 2025 Pro Bowl, along with two special team additions. That does not seem like a lot for a team positioned to make a run for the number one seed, but this is also a team that dealt with a lot of injuries.

What players did not make it this year, but are surefire to make it next year if they stay healthy?

Brock Purdy 

If Brock Purdy plays like the last two games moving forward he is going to make a lot of Pro Bowls. Of course, this would not even be the first Pro Bowl that Purdy makes, and the main reason he was not even close to consideration is that he only played in seven games.

Sam Darnold is not always a Pro Bowl pick, and Dak Prescott does not make the team every year. Beyond that, Matthew Stafford may not stay this healthy or even play next season. There is a good chance for Purdy to be a 2026 Pro Bowl player. 

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Ricky Pearsall

Ricky Pearsall has only played in eight games. One of the games he left early as well. Still, he has three games with at least 96 yards. If he plays a full season next year, and half of his games are going for 100 yards, he is going to be in consideration for the Pro Bowl. It is less about his talent and more about whether he will play. 

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Dominick Puni

If we judged from Week 8 through now, Puni may be in the Pro Bowl. Still, we cannot judge half of the season. Puni was legitimately bad in the first eight weeks, but he was working through a PCL injury that occurred in the offseason. It took him a while to shake it off, but he has been excellent since then. 

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Malik Mustapha 

Mustapha missed the first five games of the season, and he was eased in as a rotational player for two games after that. Needless to say, he has not played nearly enough. The pass defense is not good enough for him to get the recognition, either. Still, if he is entering his third season healthy and can build off of how he finishes this year, he could be in for his best season in 2026.