Assembling the San Franciso 49ers all-time NFL playoff team

Running back

1.  Roger Craig 1983-1990 (5x Pro Bowler, 11 postseason victories, 3x Super Bowl champion)

Roger Craig was the first running back in NFL history to gain 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. Although running backs often set out with this lofty goal in mind, only St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk has been able to equal Craig’s impressive feat.

The Swiss-army knife of the Niners’ offense during the mid-to-late 1980s, Craig was drafted by Bill Walsh out of the University of Nebraska. Although he had only 16 receptions his entire four-year college career, Walsh saw that Craig was a player he could develop into a dual-threat running back.

Known for his distinct high-knee running style, Craig was named the 1988 NFL Offensive Player of the Year and was instrumental in San Francisco’s Super Bowl run that season.

2.  Ricky Watters 1992-1994 (3x Pro Bowler, five postseason victories, Super Bowl XXIX champion)

Making this selection was a brutal task, as my heart said running back Frank Gore deserves the second spot on this all-time list. But after careful review of their performances in the NFL postseason and the games leading up the playoffs, the two players were virtually equal. Running back Ricky Watters’ three-touchdown performance in a Super Bowl victory puts him over the top.

Watters, who went to the Pro Bowl in each of his first five seasons in the league, was essentially Roger Craig 2.0. The former second-round selection was accomplished as both a rusher and a receiver, which allowed offensive coordinators to line him up anywhere on the field.