San Francisco 49ers: The best 53-man roster of all time
By Peter Panacy
Wide Receiver
Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens, Dwight Clark, Gene Washington, John Taylor, Freddie Solomon
Well, this is pretty easy.
If the 49ers aren’t defined by their quarterbacking or linebacker play, then wide receiver has to be the No. 1 position to identify all things San Francisco.
And it doesn’t hurt to boast the best player to ever play in the NFL, Jerry Rice.
Many of Rice’s accolades will never be broken. Even if anyone gets close, Rice will still be viewed as the greatest of all time.
Meanwhile, fellow wideout Terrell Owens might be a controversial figure in Niners lore, and around the NFL in general. But there’s no denying his impact on the field. In fact, the vast majority of his stats came with San Francisco. And he’s still No. 2 on the team’s all-time list in both touchdowns (81) and receiving yards (8,572).
Of course, we can’t leave off the late, great Dwight Clark — the man half responsible for “The Catch,” which ushered in the 49ers dynasty of the 1980s. Yet Clark was more than just that play, ranking third on the franchise’s all-time receiving yards list (6,750).
Wide receiver Gene Washington helped carry the offense through much of the 1970s, while John Taylor would have been a household name had Rice not been in the picture.
Thankfully Rice was, though.