Niner Noise
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San Francisco 49ers: Top 5 NFL Draft classes in franchise history

By Peter Panacy

10 Sep 2000: Ronnie Lott of the Ex-San Francisco 49ers talks to the crowd with Dave Wilcox and Joe Montana during the game against the Carolina Panthers at 3Com Park in San Francisco, California. The Panthers defeated the 49ers 38-22.Mandatory Credit: Tom Hauck /Allsport
10 Sep 2000: Ronnie Lott of the Ex-San Francisco 49ers talks to the crowd with Dave Wilcox and Joe Montana during the game against the Carolina Panthers at 3Com Park in San Francisco, California. The Panthers defeated the 49ers 38-22.Mandatory Credit: Tom Hauck /Allsport /
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SAN FRANCISCO – SEPTEMBER 20: (L-R) Former San Francisco 49ers Joe Montana, Roger Craig and Dwight Clark walk onto the field for a half time presentation during home opener as the San Francisco 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks at Candlestick Park September 20, 2009 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO – SEPTEMBER 20: (L-R) Former San Francisco 49ers Joe Montana, Roger Craig and Dwight Clark walk onto the field for a half time presentation during home opener as the San Francisco 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks at Candlestick Park September 20, 2009 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images) /

The San Francisco 49ers have fielded some great players over the years, many coming through storied NFL Draft classes. Here are the top five Niners draft classes in franchise history.

The San Francisco 49ers owe much of their storied history to a run of successes during the NFL Draft.

Whether it be grabbing future Hall of Famers Jerry Rice or Ronnie Lott with their first pick, or taking a flier on a young quarterback out of Notre Dame in Round 3, the Niners have surely put together some pretty stellar draft classes over their storied franchise history.

Good teams are almost always built via the draft, and the 49ers exemplified this during their heyday years of the 1980s and 1990s.

Heck, even a handful of drafts from the down 2000s might be worthy of consideration.

In this slideshow, we’ll look back at San Francisco’s draft history and identify the five best NFL Draft classes the franchise has put together.

Starting off with a few that didn’t quite make the cut.