San Francisco 49ers: 20 worst NFL Draft picks in franchise history

No. 1: Wide Receiver Rashaun Woods

Drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round (31st overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft

The 2004 season was an absolute disaster for the 49ers as the team would go 2-14 under the tutelage of head coach Dennis Erickson.

San Francisco 49ers

Their first pick of that year’s draft was Oklahoma State wide receiver Rashaun Woods, who at 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds, looked every bit the playmaking wide receiver the Niners were so desperately seeking after they had to part ways with wideout Terrell Owens, previously.

Woods was stellar at Oklahoma State. But he was nothing of the sort in just one season with the 49ers.

Marcas Grant of NFL.com explained further:

"By the end of the 2003 season, the 49ers were in full rebuilding mode. Garrison Hearst was headed to Denver, Jeff Garcia was on his way to Cleveland and Terrell Owens would fly the coop for Philadelphia. To ease the pain, San Francisco targeted Woods, a playmaking wideout from Oklahoma State. You can’t miss with a player who caught seven touchdown passes in a single game, right? Seven would turn out to be Woods’ magic number: It was the total number of balls he caught in four career NFL games with the Niners."

Yeah, that was the statistical impact of Woods’ career. And, according to Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area, Woods “never gave coaches the impression that the game was important to him.”

Needless to say, the 49ers were finished with Woods after just one season — his only one at the NFL level.

Woods may be considered the worst draft pick in Niners history. And, when taken into context with the 49ers being so bad during that stretch, it makes sense to label him in such a way.

San Francisco would hurt for playmakers for a number of years. Woods’ seemingly nonexistent standing on the field certainly hurt the 49ers efforts not only in 2004 but for years to follow.