49ers best all-time offensive players from Northern California

Many greats have donned the San Francisco 49ers uniform over the years. But who are the best homegrown talents to have appeared in games for the 49ers?

There has been no shortage of Pro Bowl and All-Pro caliber players appearing in games for the San Francisco 49ers throughout the years.

The team has 12 players who have their jerseys retired (second overall in the NFL) and 16 members of the team in the Hall of Fame (10th overall). These are both impressive numbers that just highlight the talent level that has donned the red and gold.

Although having players that are homegrown on your roster does not ultimately make a difference in the outcome of games, it stands to be mentioned that many of the great on the Niners whose names are synonymous with the Bay Area and Northern California were not actually from there.

Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana is from the greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area and the greatest wide receiver of all time, Jerry Rice, is from Mississippi. Hall of Fame defensive back and all-time tough guy Ronnie Lott is in fact from California, however, he is from Southern California.

To be fair, there have been some great NFL athletes that hailed from Northern California, quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers would most likely top out that list.

But how many of those homegrown talents actually donned the 49ers uniform?

This begs the question, who are the best players to play for San Francisco and also happen to be from Northern California?

Let’s begin this two-part series by looking at the best offensive players by position from Northern California to have worn the red and gold.