San Francisco 49ers: The All-Decade Team from 2010 through 2016
By Peter Panacy
Safety
Strong Safety: Donte Whitner
Free Safety: Dashon Goldson
The 49ers may be employing a pretty strong tandem of safeties Eric Reid and Antoine Bethea right now, but San Francisco’s best safety crop during the decade emerged during the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
The players who make the list here are safeties Donte Whitner and Dashon Goldson — two guys who comprised the 49ers backfield during the Niners’ first two NFC Championship game runs under then-head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Goldson earned Pro Bowl accolades in 2011 and 2012 and was named First-Team All-Pro in 2012 before signing a big free-agent deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2013. Whitner was named to back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2012 and 2013.
San Francisco’s hard-hitting safety group hasn’t exactly been replicated since each player’s departure, although the penalties have dropped quite a bit as well.
Still, these two can’t be kept off the list for the all-decade team.
Next: Cornerback