ESPN’s Benjamin Solak determined the best draft pick ever at every draft slot from No. 1 to 262. We know who this list will end with, but there were 16 other San Francisco 49ers who were also recognized. Here they are.
8. Ronnie Lott, S (1981)
A four-time Super Bowl champion with the 49ers and eight-time first-team All-Pro, Lott is one of the most decorated players in history. He also benefits from lighter competition than many of the other top-10 picks; also under consideration were Willie Roaf, Mike Munchak and Larry Csonka.
It’s not often that you see top 10 picks outperform their draft stock, but Lott fits the bill. One of my favorite stats from Lott is that he recovered 17 fumbles during his career. He had a knack for being around the ball, as evidenced by 63 career interceptions, but if the ball was on the ground, it was Lott’s.
16. Jerry Rice, WR (1985)
Do I need to explain why Rice is the best 16th pick in history? I don’t, but Rice is the all-time leader in receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895) and receiving touchdowns (197). Pour one out for Zack Martin, who would be an easy winner at a lot of other spots on this list — but not here.
Could you imagine the blowback the 49ers would receive if they drafted a receiver who ran a 4.59 40-yard dash if there was social media around?
49. Roger Craig, RB (1983)
Craig wins largely on the back of two seasons: his 1988 Offensive Player of the Year campaign, in which he totaled more than 2,000 scrimmage yards and powered the 49ers to a Super Bowl win; and his 1985 season, in which he exceeded 2,000 scrimmage yards by evenly splitting his production on the ground (1,050) and through the air (1,016). That’s the first 1,000/1,000 season in NFL history. Pretty nifty!
Pretty nifty indeed, Benjamin. In today’s day and age, Craig would’ve been even more popular with fantasy football around.
65. Frank Gore, RB (2006)
Gore finished his career with an even 16,000 rushing yards, putting him third on the all-time list behind only Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton. I won’t get into Hall of Fame debates here (I’d be fine if he made it, though I’m not stumping for it), but when it comes to pick No. 65, he’s head and shoulders above the rest.
One of the biggest “What ifs” I think about randomly is what if Frank Gore never tore both of his ACLs in college? Obviously, it didn’t hurt his draft stock too much. We know it didn’t hurt his professional career. But Gore would have likely been recognized as one of the best to ever do it if he had remained healthy. Fun fact: Gore averaged 9.1 yards per carry in college pre-injury. As a Florida State fan, it was impossible to tackle him.
70. Fred Warner, LB (2018)
Easy pick here, as Warner will go down as the best linebacker of this decade and one of the best linebackers ever. Warner has been a first-team representative on four of the past five All-Pro teams and shows no signs of slowing down.
A safety turned nickel turned into, objectively, the best player at his position in a span of roughly three or four years.
82. Joe Montana, QB (1979)
Put some respect on pick No. 82, which has produced Montana, John Lynch and John Stallworth — three Hall of Fame standouts. Of course, Montana is going to get the win for the whole four-time Super Bowl champion, three-time Super Bowl MVP, two-time league MVP thing. If you’re into that, I guess.
I don’t think John Lynch would be upset that he didn’t make this list.
89. Terrell Owens, WR (1996)
A five-time first-team All-Pro, Owens is only better known for his great touchdown celebrations than his production (153 touchdown receptions, No. 3 all-time). Owens only ever got to play in one Super Bowl, delivering one of the gutsiest performances of modern NFL history in the loss — but the personal accolades are more than enough.
TO is one of the greatest stories in NFL history when you consider where he came from, how he wasn’t on the NFL’s radar, and how much he dominated as a pro.
91. NaVorro Bowman, LB (2010)
A tight race between three Hall of Very Good players here: Bowman, Brian Westbrook and Mike Vrabel. Bowman likely would have finished his résumé for the Hall if not for late-career injuries, but I weigh his four first-team All-Pros heavier than Vrabel’s three Super Bowl championships. Couldn’t have gone wrong either way.
Solak doesn’t get caught up in “ring culture” here. On a lie detector test, Bill Belichick is taking NaVorro every time.
96. Charles Haley, DE (1986)
Only Tom Brady has more individual Super Bowl rings than Haley, who has five (a lot of players have four). Two came with the team that drafted him (49ers), and three came with the team he joined in free agency (Cowboys). For his efforts on multiple championship teams, Haley is enshrined in the Hall and enshrined here as the best-ever 96th overall pick.
Haley’s return to the 49ers felt right. I wasn’t old enough to watch him during his first stint with the Niners, but I’m always in awe looking through his game logs and seeing how productive he was.
121. Michael Carter, DT (1984)
146. George Kittle, TE (2017)
Kittle gets the nod for me. He has spent his entire career with the 49ers and has made the Pro Bowl in six of eight possible seasons and made an All-Pro team in five of the eight.
162. Don Griffin, CB (1986)
172. Deommodore Lenoir, CB (2021)
244. Trent Brown, OT (2015)
249. Dwight Clark, WR (1979)
261. Tommy Hart, DE (1968)
262. Brock Purdy, QB (2022)
Where else could our exercise end than with Purdy, who is the most famous seventh-round pick in modern history and perhaps ever? It could end on Jeff Van Note, technically — an 18-year (wow!) Falcon who made two All-Pro lists at center. But Purdy gets a bump for being the last pick in his draft, whereas Van Note was the 262nd out of 442 selections. I don’t know why that matters to me, but it does.
Oh, Brock. He’s the best 7th-rounder in history, and that was true after a year and a half of work.
