Niner Noise
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San Francisco 49ers: Ranking the top 10 offensive linemen of all time

By Aaron Tan

MINNEAPOLIS - SEPTEMBER 27: Joe Staley #74 of the San Francisco 49ers reacts to a play while sitting on the bench during a game against the Minnesota Vikings at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on September 27, 2009 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the 49ers 27-24. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS - SEPTEMBER 27: Joe Staley #74 of the San Francisco 49ers reacts to a play while sitting on the bench during a game against the Minnesota Vikings at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on September 27, 2009 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the 49ers 27-24. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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29 Oct 1995: Offensive lineman Jesse Sapolu of the San Francisco 49ers looks on during a game against the New Orleans Saints at 3Com Park in San Francisco, California. The Saints won the game, 11-7. Mandatory Credit: Al Bello /Allsport
29 Oct 1995: Offensive lineman Jesse Sapolu of the San Francisco 49ers looks on during a game against the New Orleans Saints at 3Com Park in San Francisco, California. The Saints won the game, 11-7. Mandatory Credit: Al Bello /Allsport /

Niner Noise takes a step back in time and looks at the San Francisco 49ers’ all-time top offensive linemen in franchise history.

Casual NFL fans have a natural tendency to focus on skill players and ignore the big guys in the trenches.

And that is perfectly reasonable.

The skill players are the people who get highlight tapes, national attention from the media and become household names.

Meanwhile, the offensive linemen don’t care about getting that recognition. They just keep on gnashing it out in the trenches to help those skill players lives out on the field.

These offensive linemen often go unnoticed by casual fans, but they are often the most important part of any game.

The San Francisco 49ers have had a plethora of talented skill players that everybody knows (Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, etc.) since the franchise’s inception back in 1946. But San Francisco has also been the home of plenty of great offensive linemen.

This ranking system will be based on how good the player was, how many starts they made and how many championships they won in their career.

Without further ado, let’s take a step back in time and look at the top 10 49ers offensive linemen of all time.