San Francisco 49ers: 10 most underrated players in franchise history
By Peter Panacy
The San Francisco 49ers have given us plenty of household names. But they were propped up by some underrated talent as well. Here are the 10 biggest who don’t quite get the love they deserve.
When you think of the greatest San Francisco 49ers of all time, you’re automatically going to picture wide receiver Jerry Rice, safety Ronnie Lott and quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young.
Those are easy. And there are plenty of other easy names in Niners lore to recall.
Yet for each household name San Francisco has been able to field, there are always more than a few underrated players who often fly under the proverbial remembrance radar.
It’s pretty easy to overlook players when so many of the greats preceded or played alongside them. And as a result, many fans often have to be reminded of such overlooked players and have one of those “oh yeah” moments when going through the team’s archives.
Finally, those guys get some love here.
player. 42. . Linebacker. 49ers Tenure: 2001-2007. Derek Smith. 10
Partially because the 49ers were mostly bad during his time with the team, but it’s hard to avoid recalling linebacker Derek Smith during the mid 2000s.
Smith signed on as a free agent in 2001 and emerged as an excellent run stopper during his time in San Francisco. And while the rest of the Niners defense declined after he joined, Smith remained a positive force in the middle of the field.
A key stat to point out is how Smith ranks fifth all time on the franchise’s list of tackles (521). That’s 11 more than another 49ers favorite, defensive tackle Bryant Young, and just six behind the 527 former Niners linebacker NaVorro Bowman had during his time with the red and gold.
If Smith was on a Super Bowl-contending San Francisco squad, we might have remembered his name a bit easier.