The 5 best first-round NFL Draft picks by the 49ers in franchise history

No. 2: Defensive back Ronnie Lott (1981)

The same way that the 49ers drafting Nick Bosa coincides with great team success, the same can be said about when the Niners drafted defensive back Ronnie Lott with the eighth overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft.

Right away, Lott helped the Niners as they went on to win their first Super Bowl in franchise history that season. Lott immediately improved a 49er secondary that had been laughable in Bill Walsh's first two years as head coach.

Lott became the key leader and playmaker on the 49ers' defense throughout the 1980s, turning in a career that made him a 10-time Pro Bowler, six-time all-Pro, and a four-time Super Bowl champ. Those accolades do not capture the ferocity with which Lott played the game. He would hit oppossing players so hard that he provided toughness to a 49ers team that was often derided as being "finesse" or "soft."

Lott is one of the best 49ers in the history of the franchise, but the final player on this list may well be the greatest football player of all time.