Niner Noise
FanSided

San Francisco 49ers: Ranking top 10 running backs in franchise history

By Nick Di Marco

Running back Roger Craig #33 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
Running back Roger Craig #33 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images) /
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Wendell Tyler, 49ers
Running back Wendell Tyler #26 of the San Francisco 49ers  (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /

No. 9: Wendell Tyler (1983-1986)

Wendell Tyler didn’t start his career at Candlestick Park, but he ended it there and did so in spectacular fashion.

Tyler was the starting running back alongside Roger Craig in the 1985 Super Bowl against the Miami Dolphins in which he totaled 135 yards (receiving and rushing). Following his long stint with the Los Angeles Rams, Tyler contributed four highly productive seasons in which he averaged 5.0 yards per carry for a total of 3,112 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Tyler’s true shining moment with the team was during the 1984 season when he earned the only Pro Bowl appearance of his career, totaling 1,262 yards rushing and seven touchdowns on 5.1 yards per carry.

Many fans wonder “what could have been?” had Tyler been around a little longer as he fit perfectly in Hall of Fame head coach Bill Walsh’s West Coast system.