The San Francisco 49ers are blessed to boast the greatest wide receiver and, perhaps, the greatest player in NFL history. But, aside from Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, what other wide receiver greats have worn the red and gold? Niner Noise takes a look at the top 10.
The San Francisco 49ers have employed a number of great wide receivers through their storied history dating back to 1946.
Starting with an easy No. 1 overall, Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice, and working on down, Niner Noise takes a look back through the franchise’s legacy and picks out the top 10 receivers to call San Francisco home.
The Niners have some noteworthy NFL receivers who won’t make this list. Retired wideouts Randy Moss and Isaac Bruce gained most of their notoriety elsewhere.
Fortunately, the 49ers have plenty of other receivers from which to choose.
In order to be considered, a top-10 candidate must have played three or more seasons with the San Francisco. The ranking itself is based on statistics, length of tenure and overall offensive impact.
And it doesn’t hurt to have some style points along the way.
So let’s dive right back into some distant and recent 49ers history, as we recall the greatest wide receivers in the storied legacy of the red and gold.
No. 10: R.C. Owens
Technically, R.C. Owens isn’t listed as a receiver. He was more of a tight end-type although he was officially listed as a halfback.
But the 49ers, from 1957 through 1961 didn’t use him that way. Owens played like a wide receiver and made his famous “Alley-Oop” catches quite a spectacle. In many ways, he was the first pass-catching target to use his sizable 6-foot-3 advantage to literally outleap defenders in coverage.
That has been a staple of offensive game plans ever since.
Owens spent only five seasons in San Francisco but amassed 2,926 receiving yards and 20 touchdown grabs during that span — almost all of them memorable.
No. 9: J.J. Stokes
Wide receiver J.J. Stokes had his problems dropping the ball over the course of his NFL tenure. And he never emerged as the player who could replace the 49ers’ best-overall receiving threat, Jerry Rice, after being taken 10th overall by the 49ers in the 1995 NFL Draft
Filling Rice’s shoes would be impossible for even the best of receivers. So Stokes has to deserve a slight break there.
Stokes spent eight seasons with the 49ers from 1995 through 2002. His best year came in 1998 when he hauled in eight touchdowns on 770 receiving yards.
During his entire Niner tenure, Stokes put together a total of 4,139 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Certainly not bad.
But the drops are something our next selection doesn’t have on his accolade sheet.
No. 8: Anquan Boldin
Wide receiver Anquan Boldin was a constant producer for the 49ers after being acquired prior to the 2013 season and spending three years as the primary pass-catching threat.
Boldin quickly emerged as the top receiving target for then-Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick and remained the team’s leading receiver through the 2015 season.
And those were some bad offenses in terms of passing statistics (see 2014 and 2015).
Boldin may not have as many receiving yards compared to J.J. Stokes, nor as many touchdown receptions (14 compared to Stokes’ 30), but the former certainly has better hands and the ability to make even the most difficult, physical receptions look easy. Plus, one can’t overlook him winning the 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, either.
It’s impossible to leave the veteran off this list despite his short-ish tenure.
No. 7: Michael Crabtree
San Francisco’s first-round draft pick from 2009 may not be looked at with much favor after he left the 49ers to sign a free-agent deal with the Oakland Raiders back in 2015.
And, in reality, Michael Crabtree never truly turned into the top-tier bona fide receiving threat the 49ers were hoping for.
Still, Crabtree was one of the best San Francisco receiving targets between 2010 and 2012 — years in which the 49ers offense was not particularly potent aside from quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s midseason burst in 2012.
Crabtree crested 1,000 receiving yards just once during his 49ers tenure (2012), but he ranks No. 11 on San Francisco’s all-time receiving yards list.
Put Crabtree at his prime, and there is little reason to leave him off this list.
No. 6: Freddie Solomon
Before wide receiver Jerry Rice came along, the 49ers had a tandem of wide receivers in Dwight Clark and Freddie Solomon.
Solomon was never named to the Pro Bowl during his 11-year career (eight with San Francisco) and never crested 1,000 receiving yards. But he was about as consistent as a receiver could get — a good thing for a developing offense and a new quarterback, Joe Montana, under the tutelage of head coach Bill Walsh in the early 1980s.
1984 was Solomon’s best season, in which he hauled in 10 touchdown passes en route to helping the 49ers reach their second Super Bowl.
And his 4,873 receiving yards with the Niners ensures he lands on this list.
No. 5: John Taylor
If it hadn’t been for one Jerry Rice, wide receiver John Taylor may have been one of the most recognizable names in 49ers history from the 1980s and early 90s.
Well, Taylor should still be pretty recognizable even if he frequently played in Rice’s shadow.
Taylor was a great complementary piece to Rice and enjoyed a similar tenure with San Francisco from 1987 through 1995.
During that span, Taylor hauled in 347 catches for 5,598 yards and 43 touchdowns. His accolades helped him earn two Pro Bowl nominations in 1988 and 1989.
But the next guy on this list has one play that simply cannot be overlooked. It is, without argument, the greatest play in 49ers history.
No. 4: Dwight Clark
Who can forget “The Catch?”
Chances are, if you’ve watched the NFL long enough, you’ve seen some reference to wide receiver Dwight Clark’s unforgettable catch in the 1982 NFC Championship game versus the Dallas Cowboys.
Yeah, the one that catapulted quarterback Joe Montana and the 49ers into their first Super Bowl.
But Clark was more than just a one-highlight wide receiver. From 1979 through 1987, Clark was a bona fide weapon who played perfectly into the hands of head coach Bill Walsh’s West Coast offense.
During that span, Clark appeared in 134 games, hauled in 506 receptions for 6,750 yards and had 48 touchdowns. Sadly, Clark finally succumbed to ALS in June of 2018, although his passing only further cemented the adoration Niners fans everywhere have for him.
Still, there is nothing wrong with him being remembered for that one catch in the north end zone of Candlestick Park.
No. 3: Gene Washington
It was difficult to place wide receiver Gene Washington over 49ers great Dwight Clark on this all-time list.
But it makes sense when one does the math.
Washington was a San Francisco leading receiver during the late 1960s and through most of the 1970s — a time when the 49ers, generally, weren’t very good.
During his career in San Francisco, Washington amassed 6,664 yards — just 86 behind that of Clark. But Washington did so on 371 receptions, compared to Clark’s 506. And in 10 fewer games.
Washington also had an average of 18.0 yards per reception. No one else on this list even comes close.
So it’s an easier slate for Washington than anticipated.
No. 2: Terrell Owens
Wide receiver Terrell Owens may have more controversy behind his name than accolades. And his on- and off-field antics may cloud his resume (clashes with quarterbacks Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb ring a bell).
But Owens was a darned good receiver during his pro tenure. And it’s a tenure that started with San Francisco.
From 1996 through 2003, Owens solidified himself as a complementary piece to, ahem, the next guy on our list, and then emerged as the top threat on the 49ers offense during the early part of the 2000s. During that stretch, Owens amassed 592 receptions for 8,572 yards and 81 touchdowns.
That’s an average of 1,071 receiving yards per season. Pretty darned good indeed.
Of course, Owens isn’t the No. 1 receiver in 49ers history. We all know who owns that accolade.
No. 1: Jerry Rice
If you had any doubts as to who should be the No. 1 selection on any all-time wide receiver list, you should probably seek medical attention.
Hall of Famer Jerry Rice is the greatest wide receiver in the history of the NFL. And it’s highly unlikely we will ever see another receiver of his caliber grace the game of football ever again. With league rules focusing on player safety and limiting hard hits, today’s NFL just doesn’t have the same level of competition in which Rice thrived.
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What about thriving?
Rice has more than double the receiving yards of the No. 2 selection, Terrell Owens, on this list (19,247 to 8,572) and has more than double the receiving touchdowns as well (176 to 81).
The storied wideout also played an amazing 238 games in San Francisco — a testament to his durability and commitment to the 49ers organization.
What Rice did for the record books is truly stunning. There isn’t any other way around it.
So there you have it — the best of the best wide receivers to ever play in a 49ers uniform.
San Francisco has been fortunate to call a number of great NFL wideouts its own, and it’s a list that will continue to grow and evolve as the franchise moves forward into coming decades.