5 Worst NFL Draft Picks in San Francisco 49ers History
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: Tight End Ken MacAfee
No. 7 Overall in the 1978 NFL Draft
Imagine if someone like current 49ers defensive end DeForest Buckner lasted just two seasons in the NFL before calling it quits.
Quite a waste of a seventh-overall draft pick, right?
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Thankfully, that won’t happen. But it did back in 1978 when the 49ers selected former Notre Dame tight end Ken MacAfee at No. 7 overall in the NFL Draft.
Remember, San Francisco was awfully bad in the late 1970s and needed all the talent it could get. MacAfee never quite lived up to the expectation level for which one might have hoped. While he did haul in four touchdowns his second season, the Niners thought he might wind up being a better fit along the offensive line.
MacAfee refused though and elected to give up on his NFL dream to pursue dental school.
You read that right.
So the Niners essentially wasted a top-10 pick on a player who didn’t last two seasons with the team.
Painful.
But at least the above video of Joe Montana hitting MacAfee at Notre Dame is pretty cool.