NFL Draft History: Super Bowl stars occupy top spots on 49ers list
The San Francisco 49ers franchise began in the All-America Football Conference in 1946, where they were always chasing Cleveland, whom they lost to in the championship in 1949. San Francisco, Cleveland and the Baltimore Colts all transferred to the NFL in 1950, but it took the 49ers 20 years to reach their first NFC Championship Game, a lost to the Cowboys. They won five Super Bowls in a 14-year stretch from 1981-94, and played in four other NFC title games during that span. Many of the top stars from this era are featured on San Francisco’s best picks list, but three others played in more recent seasons, which included trips to Super Bowls XLVII and LIV. The franchise’s best picks include three of the most talented players at their respective positions in NFL history.
BEST
10. (tie) Billy Wilson, WR (Round 22, Pick 283 in 1950) and Joe Staley, T (Round 1, Pick 28 in 2007) - Wilson was born in Oklahoma, but spent most of his football career in northern California, first at San Jose State, then with the 49ers for 10 years. He was selected to six straight Pro Bowls from 1954-59, led the NFL in receptions three times and was an All-Pro in 1957. Overall, he ranks fifth in 49ers history with 5,902 yards, tied for fifth with 49 touchdowns and seventh with 407 catches. Despite having the most receptions in the NFL during the 1950s (403), Wilson has not been elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. After his playing career ended in 1960, he spent 30 years as a 49ers coach and scout. Wilson died from bone cancer in 2009.
Like Wilson, Staley was a six-time Pro Bowler who came from a non-“Power Five” conference, moving from tight end to offensive tackle while at Central Michigan. Staley has played in 181 games in 13 seasons with San Francisco, but he suffered broken fibulas in 2010 and ’19, and also missed time in 2009 with a sprained knee. He started in two Super Bowls and four NFC Championship Games, including three in a row from 2011-13.
9. (tie) Dave Wilcox, LB (Round 3, Pick 29 in 1964) and Patrick Willis, LB (Round 1, Pick 11 in 2007) - Wilcox was an All-American at Boise Junior College (now Boise State) before transferring to Oregon. He chose the 49ers over the Houston Oilers, who chose him in the sixth round of the 1964 AFL Draft, and he spent his entire 11-year career in San Francisco. Wilcox converted from the guard and defensive end two-way combination he played with the Ducks to outside linebacker with the 49ers, and was such a ferocious player he was given the nickname “The Intimidator.” He had 14 interceptions and 12 fumble recoveries while missing just one game in his career. Wilcox was selected to seven Pro Bowls, including six straight from 1968-73, and was a two-time All-Pro. He also played in back-to-back NFC Championship Games in 1970 and ’71, but the 49ers lost to the Cowboys both years. Wilcox retired after the 1974 season and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
Willis was another linebacker who could track down both rushers and receivers. He was a two-time All-American at Mississippi, and earned SEC Defensive Player of the Year and the Butkus Award as best linebacker in 2006. Willis was a Pro Bowler, an All-Pro and the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year after leading the league with 174 tackles in 2007. Overall, he was a five-time All-Pro and earned Pro Bowl selections in each of his first seven seasons. Willis is San Francisco’s all-time leader with 950 tackles, and posted 100 or more stops six times. Like Staley, he started in three NFC title games, and he had 10 tackles in a Super Bowl XLVII loss to the Ravens. Willis missed 10 games with a toe injury in 2014 and retired the following year.
8. Jimmy Johnson, CB (Round 1, Pick 6 in 1961) - Johnson was a receiver and defensive back at UCLA, was also a track All-American with the Bruins. He spent his entire 16-year NFL career with the 49ers, and earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors each season from 1969-72. After spending 1962 as a receiver, Johnson became a full-time cornerback the following year. He ranks second in team history with 47 interceptions, including five seasons with four or more. Johnson retired after the 1976 season, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994.
7. (tie) Hugh McElhenney, RB (Round 1, Pick 9 in 1952), Roger Craig, RB (Round 2, Pick 49 in 1983) and Frank Gore, RB (Round 3, Pick 65 in 2005) - McElhenny starred for the University of Washington, running for a school-record 296 yards in a 1950 game against Washington State and earning All-American honors the following year. He was a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro his first two seasons with the 49ers, and was selected to five Pro Bowls overall with San Francisco. Nicknamed “The King,” McElhenny was a part of the 49ers’ “Million Dollar Backfield” in the early 1950s that included fellow Pro Football Hall of Famers in quarterback Y. A. Tittle, halfback John Henry Johnson and fullback Joe Perry. He ranks seventh in team history with 4,288 yards and 35 touchdowns, but the 49ers left him available in the 1961 Expansion Draft and he was selected by Minnesota. McElhenney spent two years with the Vikings and one each with the Giants and Lions before retiring in 1964. After his playing career, he was a radio analyst for the 49ers, and led a failed ownership group that tried to bring the NFL to Seattle in the early 1970s. McElhenny suffered from the nerve disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome, which led to him using a walker.
Craig played four years at Nebraska, and split carries with future Heisman Trophy winner and Houston Oilers star Mike Rozier. With San Francisco, he earned four Pro Bowl selections and was also an All-Pro and the Offensive Player of the Year in 1988 when he ran for a career-high 1,502 yards. Craig was a dual-threat star, ranking third in team history with 7,064 rushing yards, 50 touchdowns and 508 receptions, while also amassing 4,442 receiving yards. The 49ers made the playoffs every year with Craig on the roster, and he combined for 198 yards and two scores in three 49ers Super Bowl victories in the 1980s. Craig signed with the Raiders in 1991, and spent the next two years with the Vikings before retiring in 1993. He now keeps busy as a distance runner.
Gore was a part of the University of Miami’s 2001 National Championship team as a freshman, but missed the following season after suffering a torn ACL. He struggled in his redshirt sophomore season, but ran for 945 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior in 2004. In 10 seasons with San Francisco, Gore ran for at least 1,000 yards, with a high of 1,695 in 2006, and was selected to five Pro Bowls. He joined Willis and Staley in three NFC Championship Games, even running for 110 yards and a touchdown in Super Bowl XLVII. Gore is the all-time 49ers leader with 11,073 yards, and ranks second with 64 scoring runs. He signed with the Colts in 2015 and spent three years with Indianapolis, then spent one year each with Miami and Buffalo. Late in the 2019 season with the Bills, Gore passed Barry Sanders for third place on the NFL’s all-time rushing list (15,347 yards to 15.269 for Sanders).
6. Charles Haley, LB/DE (Round 4, Pick 96 in 1986) - Haley was a Division I-AA All-American at James Madison, and made the All-Rookie Team with San Francisco after posting 12 sacks in 1986. He ranks second in team history with 66½ sacks, including a career-high 16 in his 1990 All-Pro season. Haley went to three Pro Bowls with the 49ers and had two sacks and four tackles in a Super Bowl XXIII win over the Bengals. He was traded to the Cowboys in 1992 and the Cowboys moved him from outside linebacker to defensive end. Haley was a part of two championship teams, was selected to a pair of Pro Bowls and was a 1994 All-Pro in five years with Dallas. He retired in 1997 due to recurring back problems and to be with his daughter, who was diagnosed with Leukemia. But Haley came back to San Francisco in time for the 1998 playoffs, and spent one more year with the 49ers before retiring for good in 1999. Since his playing career ended, Haley has worked with several charitable organizations including Tackle Tomorrow, which he co-founded to help give children the tools to succeed as they get older.
5. Terrell Owens, WR (Round 3, Pick 89 in 1996) - Owens’ football career was a mix of fantastic play and controversy. He played football and ran track at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and had five 1,000-yard seasons with San Francisco. The four-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro had six catches for 100 yards in the 1997 NFC Championship Game, which the 49ers lost to the Packers. But it wasn’t all good. While he set an NFL record with 20 receptions in a game against the Bears in 2000 (since surpassed by Brandon Marshall in 2009), Owens also took plays off, earned the ire of Cowboys fans for celebrating touchdowns on the big star on the 50-yard-line in Dallas and implied that 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia was gay. He ranks second behind Jerry Rice in team history with 592 receptions, 8,572 yards and 81 touchdowns.
Owens was traded to Philadelphia in 2004, and was named a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro that season, but suffered a sprained ankle and a fractured fibula, leading to a surgery that included inserting a screw into his leg. He played for the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX against doctors orders and posted nine catches for 122 yards in a loss to the Patriots. Owens signed with the Cowboys in 2006, and was named a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro the following year. After three years in Dallas, he spent a year each in Buffalo and Cincinnati. Owens did not play in 2011, and signed with the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football league during their 2012 season in the spring. He tried out with the Seahawks in the fall, but Seattle released him before the season began. “T. O.” officially retired in 2015. He created more controversy when he refused to go to Canton, Ohio, for his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018, instead giving his speech at his alma mater. He was controversially left off the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019.
4. Leo Nomellini, DT/OT (Round 1, Pick 11 in 1950) - Nomellini learned how to play football in the Marine Corps, and he became a two-time All-American at the University of Minnesota. The 49ers joined the NFL after the All-America Football Conference folded in 1949, and Nomellini was their first-ever draft choice. He never missed a game in his 14-year career, playing in 174 games and earning 10 Pro Bowl and six All-Pro selections. During the offseason, Nomellini participated in the National Wrestling Alliance, even defeating all-time great Lou Thesz. Nomellini retired in 1963, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969, and died after suffering a stroke in 2000.
3. Ronnie Lott, S (Round 1, Pick 8 in 1981) - One of the hardest hitters in NFL history, Lott was part of USC’s National Championship team as a sophomore in 1978 and earned All-American status two years later. In 10 seasons with the 49ers, he ranks first in team history with 51 interceptions and second with 721 tackles. Lott began his career as a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro in 1981. That season, he had seven interceptions, returned three for touchdowns and finished second in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting behind Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor. In San Francisco, Lott was a nine-time Pro Bowler, a five time All-Pro and a four-time champion. He signed with the Raiders in 1991 and spent two years with Los Angeles and two more with the New York Jets before retiring in 1995. Lott has been a studio analyst, first on Fox and then on the Pac-12 Network. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, and was selected to the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019.
2. Jerry Rice, WR (Round 1, Pick 16 in 1985) - Simply put, Rice is the greatest wide receiver in NFL history, but he drops to the second spot because of Joe Montana’s value as a late third-round pick. A two-time I-AA All-American from Mississippi Valley State, Rice earned his nickname “World” in college due to his ability to catch anything thrown near him. He is the NFL’s all-time leader by a wide margin, with 1,549 receptions, 22,895 yards and 197 touchdowns. In 16 years with San Francisco, Rice led the league in yards and scores six times, and in catches twice. The 12-time Pro Bowler and 10-time All-Pro held NFL marks with 1,848 yards in 1995 (broken by Calvin Johnson in 2012) and 22 touchdowns in 1987 (passed by Randy Moss in 2007). Rice was Offensive Player of the Year in 1987 and ’93, and he was a part of three championship teams in San Francisco, earning MVP honors in Super Bowl XXIII after posting 11 catches, a game-record 215 yards and a touchdown. He signed with the Raiders in 2001, and was selected to the Pro Bowl the following year. Rice was traded to the Seahawks in 2004, and retired at the end of the season. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010 and was a Pro Bowl legends captain twice.
1. Joe Montana, QB (Round 3, Pick 82 in 1979) - Montana was a legend even before he graduated college. He led Notre Dame to the National Championship in 1977 and turned in one of the gutsiest performances in college football history in the Cotton Bowl the following year. Montana had hypothermia during the game, and stayed in the locker room after halftime while the medical staff gave him intravenous fluids and chicken soup. Montana came back late in the third quarter with Houston winning 34-12 and posted three late scores, including his touchdown pass as time expired, to give the Fighting Irish a 35-34 win.
After spending a year and a half behind Steve DeBerg on San Francisco’s depth chart, Montana took over as 49ers starter in 1980. He was a back-to-back league MVP in 1989 and ’90, a seven-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro. Montana also led the league in completion percentage five times and touchdowns twice, but “Joe Cool” was at his best in the postseason. He went 14-5, including 4-0 in the Super Bowl, and was the game’s MVP three times. Although Rice was the MVP of Super Bowl XXIII, Montana set a game record with 357 yards, and he also set another record with five touchdowns the following year. He set team marks with 35,124 yards and 244 scoring passes in 13 seasons with San Francisco, but an elbow injury cost him all of the 1991 season and all but one game the next year. He was traded to Kansas City and spent two seasons with the Chiefs before retiring in 1995. Since his career ended, Montana was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, was named to the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019 and has raised horses and produced wine in California.
WORST
10. (tie) Lance Alworth, WR (Round 1, Pick 8 in 1962), Gio Carmazzi, QB (Round 3, Pick 65 in 2000) and Terrence Flagler, RB (Round 1, Pick 25 in 1987) - Alworth was a three-time Academic All-American at Arkansas while competing in football and track. He was drafted by San Francisco, and Oakland took him ninth overall in the AFL Draft, but he never played for either team. The Raiders traded his rights to the Chargers, where he earned seven Pro Bowl and six All-Pro selections. Alworth finished his career with 10,266 yards and 85 touchdowns, and he also won titles with the Chargers in the 1963 AFL Championship Game and the Cowboys in Super Bowl VI. He retired in 1972, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978, and now runs a self-storage company.
A three-time Division I-AA All-American, Carmazzi was one of six quarterbacks taken before Tom Brady in the 2000 Draft. He holds Hofstra records with 9,371 yards and 71 touchdown passes, marks that should stand for a long time, since Hofstra dropped its football program in 2009. Carmazzi never played in the NFL, spending two seasons on San Francisco’s practice squad while seventh-round pick Tim Rattay backed up Jeff Garcia with the 49ers. Carmazzi played with the NFL Europe’s Rhein Fire in 2001 and spent one year each with the BC Lions and Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League before retiring in 2005. He runs a goat farm in California.
Flagler was an All-American in 1986 at Clemson, and was also a member of two Super Bowl-winning 49ers teams. In three seasons with San Francisco, he had 970 all-purpose yards (674 on kickoff returns, 151 receiving and 145 rushing) with one score on the ground. He was traded to Dallas in 1990, but was cut after the Cowboys drafted Emmitt Smith. Flagler signed with the Cardinals, where he spent two seasons before being traded back to the 49ers in 1991, but was cut after just two weeks in training camp. He then signed back with Phoenix and was released after two months. Flagler was cut by the Raiders a month into training camp in 1992 and was out of football for eight years. He signed with the Jacksonville Tomcats of the Arena Football League 2 in 2000, and played wide receiver until the team folded in 2003. Flagler now works with running backs as part of San Francisco’s Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.
9. (tie) Dana Hall, S (Round 1, Pick 18 in 1992) and Mike Rumph, CB (Round 1, Pick 27 in 2002) - A product of the University of Washington, Hall played three seasons in San Francisco, making the All-Rookie Team after posting two interceptions, a sack and 48 tackles in 1992. He was also a reserve in the Super Bowl XXIX win over San Diego. Hall signed with the Browns in 1995, and spent the final two years with the Jaguars before retiring in 1997. He has spent his post-playing career as a coach in California at San Gorgonio High School and Chaffey College.
Rumph was a two-time All-Big East selection, and was a member of the University of Miami’s National Championship team in 2001. He had three interceptions and two sacks in four seasons with San Francisco before he was traded to Washington in 2006. The Redskins waived him after seven games, and he was released by the Rams the following year as well before retiring in 2008. Rumph spent two years coaching in the high school ranks and has coached the Hurricanes’ cornerbacks since 2016.
8. Kwame Harris, T (Round 1, Pick 26 in 2003) - Harris was a high school All-American in 1999 and an All-Pac-10 selection with Stanford in 2002. With San Francisco, he played in 72 games over five seasons, but had trouble in pass blocking. Harris signed with Oakland to play left tackle in 2008, but committed a career-high 15 penalties. He signed with the United Football League’s Florida Tuskers in 2010, but he was cut before playing a game and retired soon after. In 2013, Harris became one of the first former NFL players to come out as gay. He was convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence stemming from an incident in 2012.
7. Ken MacAfee, TE (Round 1, Pick 7 in 1978) - MacAfee was a three-time collegiate All-American, and he earned the Walter Camp Award as player of the year during Notre Dame’s National Championship season in 1977. He had five touchdowns in two seasons as a tight end before San Francisco asked him to play guard in 1980. MacAfee instead chose to go to dental school, and though the 49ers traded him to the Vikings in 1981, he never returned to the NFL. He now has his own oral surgery practice in Waltham, Mass.
6. Reuben Foster, LB (Round 1, Pick 31 in 2017) - Foster was a high school All-American in 2012, a member of Alabama’s 2015 National Championship team and a college All-American and Butkus Award winner as best linebacker in 2016. He made the All-Rookie Team after posting 72 tackles in 2017. His career unraveled the following year, however, when the 49ers released him after three arrests for drug possession, domestic violence and assault weapons charges. Foster signed with the Redskins late in 2018, but suffered a torn ACL and LCL during his first practice with the team in May 2019 and has yet to play in Washington.
5. Solomon Thomas, DE (Round 1, Pick 3 in 2017) - Thomas was a high school All-American in 2013 and an All-Pac-12 selection at Stanford in 2016. The 49ers took Thomas after dropping back one spot in a trade with the Bears (which allowed Chicago to select quarterback Mitch Trubisky). He has totaled 93 tackles and six sacks in 46 games so far with the 49ers, hardly the impact one would expect from the third pick in the draft, and definitely not from a player whose four-year rookie contract included an $18.6 million signing bonus. Other defensive ends that were more productive despite having later draft spots include Derek Barnett (14th to Philadelphia), Jonathan Allen (17th to Washington) and Takkarist McKinley (26th to Atlanta).
4. Aldon Smith, DE (Round 1, Pick 7 in 2011) - Smith was the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year with Missouri in 2009 and made the All-Rookie team with San Francisco in 2001 after posting 14 sacks in a reserve role. The following season, he made his only Pro Bowl and All-Pro team after posting 19½ sacks, which set a 49ers team record and finished second in the NFL behind J. J. Watt’s 20½. He also had two tackles in San Francisco’s loss to Baltimore in Super Bowl XLVII. Despite two fantastic seasons, Smith let drugs and alcohol take over his life. He went into rehab during the 2013 season after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and drug possession. Two more DUI arrests and a nine-game substance abuse suspension led to the 49ers releasing him in 2015. He signed with the Raiders, but was suspended for all of the 2016 season and also missed the following year due to a hit-and-run incident. When Smith was arrested for a domestic violence incident against his fiancée, he was released by Oakland in March 2018 and suspended indefinitely by the NFL. He applied for reinstatement in 2020, and signed with the Cowboys while he waited for the league’s ruling.
3. A. J. Jenkins, WR (Round 1, Pick 30 in 2012) - Jenkins set an Illinois record with a 268-yard performance against Northwestern in 2011. He did not have a single catch in 2012, but was on the active roster when the 49ers played in Super Bowl XLVII. San Francisco traded Jenkins to Kansas City for fellow draft bust wide receiver Jon Baldwin in 2013, and Jenkins caught just 17 passes in two seasons before the Chiefs released him. He signed with the Cowboys in May 2015, but was released before the season began and has not played in the NFL since. His biggest claim to fame was when his draft selection was referenced on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock.
2. Rashaun Woods, WR (Round 1, Pick 31 in 2004) - Woods was a two-time All-American at Oklahoma State who set the NCAA record with seven receiving touchdowns in a game against Southern Methodist in 2003. He had seven receptions for 160 yards and a touchdown as a rookie in San Francisco, but missed the 2005 season with torn ligaments in his thumb. Woods spent time with the Chargers and Broncos during training camp the following year, but did not earn a roster spot with either club. He signed with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts in 2007, but was released after two weeks and was also cut by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before retiring in 2008. After his playing career, Woods has been a high school coach throughout Oklahoma, and is now the head coach at Enid High School.
1. Jim Druckenmiller, QB (Round 1, Pick 26 in 1997) - Druckenmiller was a starter on two Virginia Tech conference championship teams, and earned All-Big East honors in 1996. He was drafted to be the eventual replacement for Steve Young in San Francisco, but played in just six games and had a paltry 40.4 percent completion rate. After questioning his talent, the 49ers traded Druckenmiller to the Dolphins in 1999, but he didn’t play in Miami and was released the following season. In 2001, he was a backup in the Arena Football League’s Los Angeles Avengers, and started for the original XFL’s Memphis Maniax. He retired after a failed tryout with the Colts in 2003. Druckenmiller has worked in various business and information positions in recent years, and now works for a beverage distributor.
All NFL statistics and awards courtesy of https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ and college football statistics and awards courtesy of https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/
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