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The 5 Biggest 49ers Hall of Fame Snubs in the Modern Era

By JD Leidy

Aug 6, 2016; Canton, OH, USA; Former San Fransisco players (L to R) Charley Haley and Steve Young and Ronnie Lott and Jerry Rice and Joe Montana pose with former owner Edward De Bartolo Jr. (third from R) during the 2016 NFL Hall of Fame enshrinement at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 6, 2016; Canton, OH, USA; Former San Fransisco players (L to R) Charley Haley and Steve Young and Ronnie Lott and Jerry Rice and Joe Montana pose with former owner Edward De Bartolo Jr. (third from R) during the 2016 NFL Hall of Fame enshrinement at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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No. 5: Brent Jones (84)

For the decade spanning 1987-1997, few manned the tight end position better than the 49ers Brent Jones.

A Bay Area native, Jones grew up in San Jose and played his college ball at Santa Clara University, before being selected in the fifth round of the 1986 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Shortly thereafter, Jones was in a car wreck that caused severe damage to his neck as well as to the beginnings of his NFL career. He was subsequently cut by the Steelers, only to be picked up the following year by the 49ers.

By 1989, Jones had won the starting job, and went on to have a prolific career as a primary cog in the team’s vaunted West Coast Offense:

Brent Jones
Brent Jones /

Jones was not only one of the top threats at his position for the bulk of his career. He also helped to remake the perception of the tight end as nothing more than a glorified blocker.

Along with Jay Novacek of the Dallas Cowboys, Jones took the tight end position to new heights, regularly gashing defenses up the seam as well as providing an invaluable safety blanket for his quarterbacks on third down.

Jones had a particularly strong rapport with QB Steve Young, culminating in a nine touchdown season in 1994.

Per the Pro Football Hall of Fame website, only eight tight ends have been inducted into the HoF to date:

HoF Tight End Table
HoF Tight End Table /

These players averaged roughly 6,700 yards and 45 touchdowns over their careers, numbers that admittedly overshadow Jones’s production.

However, those figures are heavily skewed by Shannon Sharpe’s insanely productive career (10,060 yards and 62 touchdowns).  Jones has more yards and touchdowns than Hall of Famer Charlie Sanders and his three Super Bowl titles (as a player) ties Sharpe atop the HoF list.

Jones’s bid for a place in Canton is probably most hurt by the fact that there are others at his position with similar numbers, including Mark Bavaro, Todd Christensen, Ben Coates, Keith Jackson and the aforementioned Novacek. Yet only Jones and Novacek have the Super Bowl hardware to accompany their yardage and touchdown stats.

In addition, HoF shoo-ins Tony Gonzales and Antonio Gates will soon be up for consideration, likely making the odds of yet another tight end getting the nod even slimmer.

All that said, Jones has the numbers and the titles to justify Hall of Fame consideration, making him No. 5 on the 49ers snub list.