Niner Noise
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Ranking the San Francisco 49ers GOATs at each position.

By James Jones

SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 20: Former San Francisco 49ers player Jerry Rice is seen during a ceremony honoring the 1981-82 team at halftime of the NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals at Levi's Stadium on December 20, 2015 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 20: Former San Francisco 49ers player Jerry Rice is seen during a ceremony honoring the 1981-82 team at halftime of the NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals at Levi's Stadium on December 20, 2015 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Joe Montana #16, back up Quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers during the National Football Conference West Divisional Championship game against the Washington Redskins on 9 January 1993 at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California, United States. The 49ers won the game 20 – 13. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Allsport/Getty Images)
Joe Montana #16, back up Quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers during the National Football Conference West Divisional Championship game against the Washington Redskins on 9 January 1993 at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California, United States. The 49ers won the game 20 – 13. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Allsport/Getty Images) /

The San Francisco 49ers have a rich and storied history. With that has come some of the best individuals to ever play the game of football. Here we will breakdown the greatest 49ers players of all time at each position.

The rich and storied history of the San Francisco 49ers has not only produced their share of Super Bowl wins but numerous Hall of Fame players to boot. They have had 14 players enshrined in Canton who are considered 49er lifers, even if they may have gone on to don other uniforms later in their careers.

There are 10 more who piled up most of their accolades with other teams, only to arrive in the Bay Area for the chance to be a part of a title run. This list isn’t to discount what those men added to any one of the teams five Super Bowl victories.

This is, however, a list of which players are considered the greatest at their positions in the team’s illustrious history.

So without further ado, I present to you the 49ers all-time GOATS at each position.

Quarterback: Joe Montana

Determining the 49ers greatest passer of all time wasn’t all that difficult. Joe Montana wasn’t merely the best quarterback in San Francisco history, he is arguably the greatest signal-caller to ever lace up a pair of cleats.

When the incomparable Bill Walsh drafted Montana in 1979, there were some questions surrounding his ability to become a good NFL quarterback. He was the 82nd overall pick in that draft and some thought he lacked arm strength and would fail to survive the rigors of a professional season.

As it turned out, Walsh knew exactly what he was looking for in his quarterback of the future and saw it all in Montana. “Joe Cool” went on to lead the 49ers to four Super Bowl titles, winning three MVP awards in those games.

The Hall of Famer’s stat line in the four championships he played in: 83 of 122, 1,142 yards, 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Again, that were no interceptions thrown in the four most important games of his life.

No other qualifying quarterback can stake that claim.

Just another reason Montana is the greatest quarterback in 49ers history.

Honorable mentions: Y.A. Tittle, John Brodie, Steve Young, Jeff Garcia