Niner Noise
FanSided

San Francisco 49ers: The best 53-man roster of all time

By Peter Panacy

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NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 27: Ronnie Lott attends Nike Brings Broadway Bowl Football Matchup To The Heart Of Times Square on April 27, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Nike)
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 27: Ronnie Lott attends Nike Brings Broadway Bowl Football Matchup To The Heart Of Times Square on April 27, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Nike) /

Safety

Free Safety: Ronnie Lott, Merton Hanks, Dwight Hicks

Strong Safety: Carlton Williamson

Well, this is pretty easy. Or is it? The 49ers have had some pretty great safeties over their history.

San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

The first is a no-brainer. Ronnie Lott was one of the hardest-hitting defensive backs in NFL history and a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee in 2000. Lott still holds the franchise record for interceptions (51), of which five (also a franchise record) were returned for touchdowns.

Easy pick.

In 1991, the 49ers moved on from Lott and replaced him with Merton Hanks, who eventually named to the Pro Bowl four times as a free safety. Also getting four Pro Bowl nods was fellow free safety Dwight Hicks, who patrolled the back end of the Niners secondary from 1979 through 1985 — the latter years when Lott was still playing cornerback.

Just think, Hicks had a whopping nine interceptions in 1981. Maybe we should swap out Lott as a starter? No, but still… that’s a big number.

Over on the strong side of the field, Carlton Williams is a no-brainer pick. He spent a total of seven seasons in San Francisco, earning two Pro Bowls to his name and anchoring the team’s 1984 defense — often considered the best in franchise history.