The SF 49ers have boasted some of the best wide receiver tandems in NFL history, and Niner Noise ranks out the top six.
When one thinks of the SF 49ers and their storied past, they often think of two key positions: quarterbacks and wide receivers.
The Niners have been graced with the best at each position, Joe Montana at quarterback and Jerry Rice at wide receiver. And some could make the argument San Francisco has had the two greatest wideouts in NFL history in their ranks at the same time, Rice and Terrell Owens, who just so happen to be first and second on the franchise’s all-time receiving yards list.
Duos are important in the NFL, both in today’s pass-heavy game and in years prior. The best tandems complement each other and allow for both to find their own kinds of successes.
Currently, the SF 49ers hope they have an up-and-coming tandem we’ll be able to write about in future years, wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Samuel, the 2019 second-round NFL Draft pick, has already earned praise as a multifaceted weapon in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense, while the 2020 first-round pick, Aiyuk, is solidifying himself as a massive yards-after-the-catch weapon.
Perhaps in some time, let’s say four or five years, we’ll be looking at both Samuel and Aiyuk as massive impact players and names who can be considered among the best wideouts in Niners history.
For now, though, Aiyuk and Samuel still have a lot to prove and a long way to go before that discussion. Especially when looking back at the six best wide receiver duos San Francisco has had in its storied history.
To start off our list, we can go back into the not-so-distant past and recall the tandem of wideouts Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree.
SF 49ers Duo No. 6: Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree
Years Together: 2013-2014
A two-year span doesn’t tell too much, but the Niners sure had to feel good about landing a player who beat them in Super Bowl XLVII, Anquan Boldin, in that 2013 trade with the Baltimore Ravens.
Boldin emerged as a key go-to target for then-quarterback Colin Kaepernick, capping off his three-year stint in San Francisco with 237 receptions for 3030 yards and 16 touchdowns. And Boldin’s 2014 campaign marked the last time an SF 49ers pass-catcher recorded 1,000-plus yards until tight end George Kittle hit that mark in 2018.
Few could also forget Boldin’s clutch touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks in the 2014 NFC Championship game, too. It’s only unfortunate the Niners ended up losing that game.
In part because of Kaepernick’s fade attempt to Crabtree in the waning minutes.
Crabtree, the SF 49ers’ top pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, never truly panned out as a bona fide No. 1 option. He missed all but five games with Boldin in 2013 because of injury, yet 2014 proved to be a solid enough year.
While Boldin was on his way to 1,062 receiving yards that season, Crabtree held his own with an impressive 68-catch, 698-yard, four-touchdown campaign of his own, which helped give San Francisco a legitimate one-two punch at the position.
But Crabtree would be gone in 2015 and Boldin a year later, making this duo awfully short but well remembered.
SF 49ers Duo No. 5: R.C. Owens and Monty Stickles
Years Together: 1960-1961
Like Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree, the next wide receiver tandem on this list only played together for two years. And fans will have to dig deep into the SF 49ers’ archives to remember their impact.
But wide receiver R.C. Owens doesn’t need to big an introduction. He coined the NFL jump-ball tactic in the end zone, earning the nickname “Alley-Oop” for simply using his 6-foot-3, 197-pound frame to jump over defensive backs in 50-50 situations.
While he only spent five years donning the red and gold, Owens’ impact was felt to the tune of 2,926 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns.
Before Owens left, though, the Niners brought in Monty Stickles in Round 1 of the 1960 NFL Draft, partially to complement Owens and to potentially replace him, which eventually happened when Stickles was moved to tight end in 1962.
The year before, however, Stickles posted an impressive 43-catch, 794-yard campaign to pair with Owens’ smashing 1,032-yard effort to help propel San Francisco to the league’s fourth-best offense that year.
One can only wonder what would have happened if Owens and Stickels stuck around a little while longer.
SF 49ers Duo No. 4: Dwight Clark and Freddie Solomon
Years Together: 1979-1985
In the days before a salary cap, it was much easier for teams to keep a lethal wide receiver tandem together for the long run, yet that’s what San Francisco was able to do from the late 1970s through the glory years of the mid 1980s.
Few fans need an introduction to wide receiver Dwight Clark, who was responsible for the greatest play in SF 49ers history. But it’s important to note he was actually the No. 2 option on “The Catch” if fellow wideout Freddie Solomon wasn’t open.
In fact, Joe Montana could have hit Solomon for what would have been a game-winning touchdown just a play before Clark’s memorable catch.
Solomon, Clark’s senior, enjoyed a productive career with the Niners between 1978 and 1985, reaching 4,873 receiving yards during that span and complementing Clark’s own rise to become the franchise’s No. 3 all-time leading pass-catcher. Before the days of Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens and John Taylor, it was actually the tandem of Clark and Solomon who ushered in San Francisco’s dynasty era.
Both in 1981, en route to the SF 49ers’ first Super Bowl, and then again in 1984, which is widely viewed as the best team in franchise history.
The duo combined for 1,617 receiving yards that season, solidifying the two’s spot at No. 4 on this list.
SF 49ers Duo No. 3: Billy Wilson and Gordie Soltau
Years Together: 1951-1958
It’s fair to look at recency bias and consider names like Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens atop the SF 49ers’ best wide receivers ever, also giving credit to other not-too-distant names like John Taylor and Dwight Clark.
But wide receivers Billy Wilson and Gordie Soltau deserve some recognition on that list, too.
In the days before wide receivers were considered positions — opting for “ends” back in 1950s and early 1960s terminology — Wilson and Soltau were about as good as it got during that classic era of football.
And they were prime reasons why San Francisco boasted one of the NFL’s best offenses during the decade, frequently landing in the top five in scoring.
Wilson, a Pro Bowler in each season from 1954 through 1959, still ranks fifth all time on the franchise’s leading receiving-yards list (5,902), which is quite the achievement considering the other players listed there.
Soltau, who made the Pro Bowl in 1951, 1952 and 1953, also doubled as a place-kicker but not without notching 3,487 receiving yards over his own well-praised career.
If your grandparents and great-grandparents were Niners fans, be sure to ask them about the lethal combination of Wilson and Soltau. You’ll surely hear some fantastic stories.
SF 49ers Duo No. 2: Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens
Years Together: 1996-2000
Some may argue the SF 49ers’ wide receiver duo of Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens should be No. 1 on this list. After all, both players occupy the top-two spots on the franchise’s all-time receiving list, and both players ended up as deserving members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
And many an analyst would tab these two as the greatest wide receivers of all time.
All fair points, yes. There were moments, too, where both Rice and Owens shined at the same time during the same season. Particularly in 1998 when Rice and Owens each recorded 1,000-plus receiving yards together, helping the Niners get into the playoffs where they’d beat the Green Bay Packers in one of the wildest last-second scores in postseason history.
Ironically, it was Owens who got the call from quarterback Steve Young in what became known as “The Catch II,” not Rice, who was probably the target everyone at Candlestick Park anticipated on that throw.
Yet there’s a reason why this Hall of Fame tandem doesn’t reach the No. 1 spot on this list. Despite having some impressive seasons with Rice ahead of him on the depth chart, Owens’ success primarily came after Rice departed in 2001.
Rice, meanwhile, was the dominating force in the decade prior.
Plus, their five seasons together don’t quite match what the next duo was able to do.
SF 49ers Duo No. 1: Jerry Rice and John Taylor
Years Together: 1987-1995
Yes, Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens are the best two wide receivers in San Francisco history, perhaps the best two in NFL history.
But their accomplishments together don’t quite reach what Rice was able to do with another receiving great, John Taylor.
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Taylor might be one of the best-underappreciated players in NFL history, certainly in SF 49ers history, as he was often overlooked in favor of Rice during those powerhouse Niners years of the late 1980s and into the early 1990s.
Rice was a Pro Bowler in each one of those seasons and missed a first-team All-Pro nod just once during that span, 1991. Yet Taylor earned his two Pro Bowl nods in 1988 and 1989, too, which just so happened to be the back-to-back Super Bowl championship squads San Francisco put together.
It sure seemed as if Rice and Taylor combined to make great moments happen under the bright lights of postseason play.
The duo won another Super Bowl together in 1994, although it was clear Taylor was fading from the spotlight. But not before recording his famous game-winning catch in Super Bowl XXIII against the Cincinnati Bengals, which capped off “The Drive” and earned the Niners their third Lombardi Trophy.
When it comes to the best wide receiver duos in SF 49ers history, there’s no other quite like Rice and Taylor.