49ers football for the most part has been one of the most dominant franchises in the entirety of the NFL, definitely top five. Each year comes a new team and each team brings new players. Looking back we see the decades of success of failures and disappointment. We also see the players that we love the most in each decade. Today we’re looking at the best offensive and defensive player from each decade. The Niners have had a lot of fun decades and we can’t wait to get into it. we hope you guys enjoy it.
‘50’s-’60’s
Now just out of respect we’re doing the 50’s and 60’s. I really don’t know anything about our 49ers ancestors. Y.A. Tittle was one of the earliest quarterback in 49ers history and set a foundation for greatness to come. He was a two time pro bowler with the niners. Leo Nomellini was a Hall of Fame defensive tackle for the niners and one of the best players in the 50’s. He was a 10 time pro bowler.
‘70’s
’70s weren’t great either but it’s what Bill that dynasty that we all know today. The best player offensively we say is Ken Willard, a multiple time pro bowler. He was very reliable for the niners and remains the best offensive player in the 70’s for us.Now defense that’s a different story Fred Dean one of the best players in 49ers history and of all time. Trading for him in the mid-90s from the Chargers was one of the greatest Acquisitions we could have made. One of the greatest pass rushers that ever wore red and gold. with the Niners of course won a Super Bowl One defensive player of the year and was a two-time pro bowler. one of the greatest defensive players in Niners history.
‘80’s
’80s this was our Dynasty no one could compete with the Niners in the ’80s We Were Far and Away the best team in the 80s and it wasn’t even close. This has made it a lot harder to choose our best players on each side. but we managed to break it down. should be no shock the greatest player to ever wear a 49ers jersey Jerry Rice sorry Joe. Jerry Rice is the greatest wide receiver of all time. He has the most receptions of all time, the most yards of all time and the most touchdowns of all time. 3 time super bowl champion and winning super bowl MVP in Super bowl XXII against the bengals. Let’s not forget 1984 though, that’s the greatest receiving season of all time. 1,211 yds, 92 receptions, 13.2 yds per reception, OPOY, and the greatest receiving stat ever 22 touchdowns in 1984. Jerry’s the GOAT no doubt best player to ever wear a Niners jersey. Next one’s even less of a competition it’s Ronnie Lott. The best safety in NFL history but could be put anywhere on the field and still be an elite player. Number for toughness, leadership and versatility Ronnie Lott was one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history. No one wanted to play against this guy. He struck fear into every single quarterback and receiver on the field every single time he took the field. Lott was a 10-time pro bowler, four-time Super Bowl champ and two-time defensive player of the year. Both of these men are some of the greatest 49ers ever.
‘90’s
The 90s are another great year in 49ers history. With that comes a lot of elite players. On offense it’s quite hard to not say Jerry Rice again. To make this more fun and with a little bit of an edge we’re giving the 90s offense to Steve Young. Steve Young is one of the best quarterbacks to ever live and though his career was short lived he was dominated throughout it all. He has in my opinion the greatest quarterback season of all time and if not that it’s the most complete quarterback season ever. In 1994 he won a Super Bowl, won an MVP and a Super Bowl MVP. He was the most complete dual threat quarterback of all time and led the way for the likes of Mike Vick and Lamar jackson. Two-time MVP, two-time Super Bowl champ and seven Time pro bowler. Steve Young the greatest Lefty in NFL history. Our defensive Pig for the 90s is none other than Deion Sanders. Prime time though he was only there for a year, was our pick for the greatest player on defense in the 90s. The main reason for this is the one and only year that he played there we won a Super Bowl. Why do you think that is? He is the greatest quarterback to ever play the position and this year he locked down everybody that we needed him to. The Cowboys were one of our big problems in the 90s. Him being there in 94 men Michael Irvin couldn’t do anything. Jerry was also able to do more because he wasn’t being guarded by this man because he was on his own team. All the reason that he was the best defensive player in the 90s.
2000’s
Now the 2000s were a rough but special time for 49ers fans. Some of my most favorite players in the entire history of the Niners have came from this era. Offense was a hard one. We got Jeff Garcia, Vernon Davis my personal favorite Niner of all time and I think most people’s 2000s GOAT T.O. But the spot is going to none other than Frank Gore. Frank Gore is kind of the standard for a Niners Legacy. Every Niners fan in existence has the utmost respect for this man. We all wish we could have got him a Super Bowl ring. Frank though, he was a beast all time leading rusher for the franchise with over 16k yards. Pretty much all the years that he was here our offense ran around him. Five Time pro bowler, one time all pro and a top 10 running back of all time. No surprises here defensive pick is Patrick Willis. I mean what can I say the greatest what if of all time. Everybody thought him and Luke Kuechly were going to be the greatest linebackers of all time when it was all said and done. But even with those instincts, that leadership and that ability to play the game of football at that level his career was cut short due to injuries. In that time though he made the Pro Bowl every year and all pro team pretty much every year and had the greatest rookie season in NFL history for defensive players. If only was on the 2019 team.
2010’s
We’re just going to end it off with the 2010s but by the time 2020 is finished we’ll have it updated. 2010s was really rough for the most part outside of the very beginning. In the very end it was a hard time. Those time frames that were great were some of the best years I’ve ever had being a Niners fan. Now there’s a lot of guys I could go with. I just don’t know if they’ve been in the 2010s decade long enough. George Kittle is someone that I think of in this category. If we were doing the 2020s he’d be the guy. No matter who I think of, my head and heart always go to the same person and he cannot be denied. Colin Kaepernick the most polarizing quarterback in modern NFL history. No matter what anyone says, us not as fans remember how incredible he was in that 2012 season. His athletic ability and his frame made him a gazelle on the football field. He was a freak athlete and he had the confidence of the greatest of all time. He was so Unstoppable That season. When I think of 2010 Niners football I think of number seven.And last but not least for the 2010s defensive player we went with Navarro Bowman. This one was very tough. We could have gone with a guy like Dante Hitner but ultimately we decided to stay with Navarro Bowman. When I think of the 2010’s I think of him and Joe Staley being a light in the darkness of the 2010’s teams that were just awful. He was so good though. He always led the team in tackles, he always was a leader and stepped up whenever we needed him to. Three Time pro bowler, two-time First Team All Pro and All decades team being the number one inside linebacker.
