San Francisco 49ers: 15 best free-agent acquisitions of all time
By Peter Panacy
Greatest free agent acquistions in San Francisco 49ers history: 14. Charlie Garner
49ers Tenure: 1999 – 2000
Usually, one doesn’t think of Charlie Garner when mentioning some of the great Niners running backs of all time. After all, he spent just two years with San Francisco and was largely overshadowed by another runner on this list in Garrison Hearst, who missed both of Garner’s two years with the 49ers due to injury.
Before joining the 49ers, Garner was a non-featured and supplementary tailback for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was predominantly used on special teams and a change-of-pace runner, who never accumulated more than 600 yards in any one season before 1999.
When given the chance in San Francisco, however, all that changed. Garner’s first season with the 49ers was electric, as he rushed for 1,229 yards (ranked fifth best for single-season rush totals in franchise history) and averaged 5.1 yards per carry in the process, while also adding 535 receiving yards through the air.
2000 was even better, as Garner managed 1,142 yards rushing, seven touchdowns and a whopping 1,789 yards from scrimmage en route to his one and only Pro Bowl nod.
Plus, he was awfully fun to watch in the open field.
Hearst’s return in 2001 spelled the end for Garner’s time in San Francisco, but the latter sure helped keep the Niners’ ground efforts from suffering a serious setback.