Niners Nation
ESPN’s Benjamin Solak went through every pick ever in the NFL draft to decide who was the best player at each draft slot. Unsurprisingly, the San Francisco 49ers were well-represented.
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...
