SF 49ers: Top 6 wide receiver duos in franchise history

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Wide receiver John Taylor #82 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Robert Riger/Getty Images) /

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.

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When it comes to the best wide receiver duos in SF 49ers history, there’s no other quite like Rice and Taylor.