San Francisco 49ers: 10 biggest ‘what ifs?’ in NFL Draft history

No. 3: What if Dwight Clark never answered Bill Walsh’s phone call?

All those “what ifs?” in 49ers NFL Draft history don’t have to work against the Niners’ favor.

And in 1979, one seemingly small incident worked out extremely well for San Francisco over the long run.

The older fans may remember this, but late great wide receiver Dwight Clark wasn’t a peg to get drafted coming out of Clemson. Even Bill Walsh didn’t have Clark on his radar, rather he was looking at Steve Fuller to potentially be the team’s quarterback selection in that year’s draft.

As the story goes, Walsh called asking for Fuller, Clark’s collegiate roommate, but Clark answered. And Walsh subsequently asked Clark to show up to the practice to catch passes from Fuller:

Well, that did the trick.

Walsh eventually selected Clark in the 10th round of the 1979 NFL Draft.

Of course, Clark would go on to cement one of the most famous plays, not just in 49ers history, but in the history of sports. Everyone knows Clark for “The Catch.” Yet Clark would also become the franchise’s third-best leading receiver behind Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens, the former boasting 6,750 receiving yards over a storied nine-year career that included two Super Bowl championships.

One can only wonder what could have happened if Fuller answered the phone instead and decided to bring out one of his other Clemson pass-catching targets for Walsh’s scouting day.

Good thing Clark answered instead.