49ers have NFL Defensive Rookie, Executive of the Year per GM survey

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The 49ers hope to achieve their ultimate team goal at Super Bowl LIV in Miami on Feb. 2. They'll stand a great chance at taking home some individual accolades at the "NFL Honors" festivities the night before, too.

That much was made obvious by an awards survey of high-ranking personnel executives from 24 teams recently conducted by NFL.com's Tom Pelissero. The voting body included 13 general managers and clearly thought highly of what San Francisco has accomplished this season.

Rookie edge rusher Nick Bosa is off to a tremendous start to his career, and executives have taken notice, as he was the runaway winner with 18 of the 24 votes for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

"It's him or (Jaguars DE Josh) Allen," one GM responded. "I look at team success, too. If [the 49ers] don't have that D-line, I don't think they're doing the things they're doing."

Allen and Pittsburgh's Devin Bush each received three votes.

The two men arguably most responsible for getting Bosa in a 49ers uniform were recognized, too. While San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan finished third in Coach of the Year voting behind Buffalo's Sean McDermott and Baltimore's John Harbaugh, general manager John Lynch was voted as the top Executive of the Year.

"They built the right way -- D-line, O-line," another NFC executive said. "I know they inherited (Arik) Armstead and (DeForest) Buckner, [but they hit] on Bosa. Had some sneaky UFA signings with the corner from Seattle (Richard Sherman last year). They traded for (WR) Emmanuel Sanders, it helped. They've done a nice job collectively, [Lynch] and Shanahan, getting players that fit Shanahan's scheme and then getting players that fit what they want to do on defense."

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Lynch received eight votes, just barely beating out Seattle's John Schneider with seven.

Considering the No. 1 seed in the NFC looks like it's going to come down to the 49ers-Seahawks game in Week 17, that final regular-season contest could have a determining impact on both team and individual goals.

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