We took a break from trying to project the 49ers’ 53-man roster and instead rewound the clock to try and piece together a roster of all-time great 49ers.
This was not an easy task given some of the incredibly talented players that have rolled through San Francisco since 1946. We tried our best to come up with some kind of criteria and landed on relying solely on the player’s contributions to the 49ers. For example, despite Randy Moss being an all-time great WR, he did not make the all-time 49ers team because his one year with the club was subpar and well past his prime. However (spoiler alert), Deion Sanders did make the team because of his impact in his one season with San Francisco.
There are a lot of great players who didn’t make the cut, but that’s what happens when trying to whittle such a vast talent pool down to 53 players within the confines of a 53-man roster that makes any kind of sense.
A quick note before we dive in: Bill Walsh is the head coach of this team. That was taken into consideration when constructing the offense. We’re also going to run a 4-3 defensive front.
To the roster:
Quarterback (3)
Joe Montana
Steve Young
John Brodie
Can you imagine if Montana and Young were on the same team? That would be wild. Also, that Brodie would probably be a healthy inactive on gamedays is a testament to just how stacked the 49ers all-time QB room is.
Running back (3)
Frank Gore
Joe Perry
Christian McCaffrey
There’s a newness to McCaffrey that makes his inclusion on this team feel sacrilegious. Especially when someone like Hugh McElhenny is getting left out. However, his impact since arriving in a trade halfway through the 2022 season has been strong enough to earn him a spot with Gore and Perry. There’s enough versatility here to give Walsh a ton of options when devising his offense.
Fullback (1)
Roger Craig
This is kind of cheating, but it’s our list so we can do what we want. Craig did spent time at fullback for San Francisco before transitioning to a more traditional halfback role. His ability to take on a heavy rushing load while also being effective as a pass catcher gets him in over Kyle Juszczyk and Tom Rathman.
Wide receiver (6)
Jerry Rice
Terrell Owens
RC Owens
John Taylor
Dwight Clark
Gene Washington
In our hypothetical world where Walsh gets to see all of the 49ers ever in action, he may take Deebo Samuel and utilize him like Kyle Shanahan does. However, there’s enough talent here that Samuel falls out of the mix for now. Prime Rice and prime Owens lining up with Taylor in the slot would be a massive headache for any defense.
Tight end (3)
Vernon Davis
George Kittle
Brent Jones
The mutli-tight end stuff Walsh would be able to concoct with any combination of this trio on the field at the same time would be a nightmare. There’s a ton of athleticism here, plenty of blocking, and two explosive playmakers after the catch.
Offensive line (9)
Trent Williams
Joe Staley
Bob St. Clair
Forrest Blue
Jesse Sapolu
Harris Barton
Mike Iupati
Guy McIntyre
Randy Cross
The offensive line might have been the hardest piece of the roster to iron out. This group gives Walsh excellent bookends at tackle, a stout interior and a ton of versatility among his reserves. Any combination of five here makes an outstanding offensive front.
Defensive line (11)
Nick Bosa
Fred Dean
Aldon Smith
Cedric Hardman
Charles Haley
Justin Smith
Bryant Young
Leo Nomellini
Charlie Krueger
Michael Carter
Arik Armstead
This group is loaded. There’s inside-outside versatility, a dominant outside pass rush and plenty of movable pieces to plug running lanes or push the pocket from the interior. Starting lineups with the defensive line could be completely matchup dependent and there’s not really a combination of players here that wouldn’t be extremely effective.
Linebacker (5)
Patrick Willis
Fred Warner
NaVorro Bowman
Dave Wilcox
Ken Norton Jr.
The athleticism in the second level with Willis, Bowman and Warner would be ridiculous. Although we could plug Norton or Wilcox in at any spot and feel great about it. Wilcox could also give the team some flexibility by lining up on the end and getting after the quarterback in passing situations. There’s not a lot of ways to line this group up wrong.
Cornerback (5)
Jimmy Johnson
Deion Sanders
Eric Wright
Eric Davis
Kermit Alexander
We strongly considered cutting a player elsewhere to add Richard Sherman, but the five CBs we have here are outstanding. Johnson and Sanders are both lockdown CBs on the outside, leaving Wright, Davis and Alexander to duke it out for slot snaps. Takeaways would be frequent regardless of how the 49ers deployed this CB room.
Safety (4)
Ronnie Lott
Merton Hanks
Tim McDonald
Dwight Hicks
This is another group where the all-time 49ers could roll out different players depending on matchup. It also has enough versatility to rock some three-safety looks. We’d need to ensure the hypothetical game is played in an era where Lott wouldn’t get kicked out of the league though.
Specialists (3)
K: Robbie Gould
P: Andy Lee
LS: Brian Jennings
Good group.
