How do you separate Jerry Rice from Joe Montana? How are you supposed to rank one of these two men higher than the other when it comes to the greatest players in San Francisco 49ers history?

We’re going to do just that on this Betway Insider top 10. As usual, all stats are courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Who were the best San Francisco 49ers players in the 2022 NFL season?

The best players on the 2022 49ers roster were 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa, a defensive end, and First Team All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner. Most of the best 49ers players from 2022 remained with the team for the 2023 season.

Who are the San Francisco 49ers’ best players for the 2023 NFL season?

Notable players in the 2023 49ers starting lineup include running back Christian McCaffrey and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.

San Francisco 49ers History of Players

The 49ers had what is probably the greatest quarterback-wide receiver duo of all time in QB Joe Montana and WR Jerry Rice. The two are among the greatest ever to play their respective positions.

Famous San Francisco 49ers Players

Other famous players for the 49ers include standouts on the defensive side of the ball, such as cornerback Jimmy Johnson and defensive tackle Bryant Young.

Ranking the Top 10 Greatest San Francisco 49ers Players of All Time

  1. Jimmy Johnson

Position: Cornerback
Seasons with 49ers: 1961 to 1976

Former 49ers cornerback Jimmy Johnson played more defensive games for the franchise than anyone in history, appearing in 213 contests across 16 seasons. He made the most of his time, recording the second-most career interceptions of any 49ers player with 47 while making five trips to the Pro Bowl and earning four First Team All-Pro selections.

Johnson is a member of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the NFL’s 1970s All-Decade Team. Also, in case anyone was wondering, we’re not talking about the Jimmy Johnson of Cowboys and Fox Sports fame.

  1. John Brodie

Position: Quarterback
Seasons with 49ers: 1957 to 1973

Former San Francisco quarterback John Brodie marshaled the 49ers offense for more than a decade, but he didn’t truly blossom until the twilight of his career. The third overall pick in the 1957 NFL Draft enjoyed his first great season in 1965, when he led the league with both 3,112 passing yards and 30 TD passes, even though his team failed to make the playoffs.

Brodie’s first taste of the postseason came in 1970 when he won the NFL MVP award by again leading the league in both passing yardage and touchdowns. Overall, he ranks second in franchise history for career passing yards and third for both QB wins and passing touchdowns.

  1. Roger Craig

Position: Running Back
Seasons with 49ers: 1983 to 1990

Former 49ers running back Roger Craig carved out his own slice of NFL history by becoming the first player to record 1,000-plus rushing and receiving yards in the same season (1985). That wasn’t even Craig’s best campaign in the Bay Area, because he went on to become the 1988 NFL Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for a career-high 1,502 yards.

Craig only made one First Team All-Pro squad, but he was a four-time Pro Bowler and a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Niners. A member of the NFL’s 1980s All-Decade Team, Craig has the 12th most playoff rushing yards in NFL history.

  1. Leo Nomellini

Positions: Offensive Tackle and Defensive Tackle
Seasons with 49ers: 1950 to 1963

Former 49ers lineman Leo Nomellini starred on both sides of the ball as an offensive and defensive tackle for San Francisco -- earning All-Pro selections at both positions. The Pro Football Hall of Famer accumulated the second-most trips to the Pro Bowl in franchise history with 10 and spent his entire 14-season career in the Bay Area.

Nomellini was named to the NFL’s 1950s All-Decade Team as a defensive tackle and only lost his shot at the offensive tackle position because he was overshadowed by NFL legends Roosevelt Brown and Bob St. Clair.

  1. Patrick Willis

Position: Middle Linebacker
Seasons with 49ers: 2007 to 2014

Former San Francisco linebacker Patrick Willis’ career was unfortunately cut short due to injuries, but that shouldn’t take anything away from one of the greatest six-year stretches by a linebacker in NFL history.

After earning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2007 by leading the league with a gaudy 174 tackles, Willis ripped off an impressive five First Team All-Pro selections in six seasons (from 2007 to 2012). This is particularly notable because Willis played in the same era as fellow MLBs Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher.

Willis retired after the 2014 season at the age of 29, but he still likely did enough to earn a future ticket to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

  1. Frank Gore

Position: Running Back
Seasons with 49ers: 2005 to 2014

Former 49ers running back Frank Gore was one of the most consistent players in NFL history. Gore rushed for at least 1,000 yards in eight of his 10 seasons with San Francisco from 2005 to 2014. He only fell short of the mark as a rookie and in 2010 due to injury. Gore was a five-time Pro Bowler during that stretch and had his best yardage total in 2006, when he carried the ball a career-high 312 times for 1,695 yards to finish third overall in the league.

Gore holds practically every rushing record in 49ers franchise history and played a big part in the team’s march to Super Bowl XLVII. During that 2012-13 postseason, he recorded an impressive 319 rushing yards and four TDs in just three games. That included the 34-31 Super Bowl loss to the Baltimore Ravens, in which Gore ran for 110 yards. Frank Gore is the best 49ers running back in history. 

  1. Steve Young

Position: Quarterback

Seasons with 49ers: 1987 to 1999

For the first half of former San Francisco quarterback Steve Young’s career, any 49ers fan would have been called crazy for saying Young might one day have a shot at cracking this sort of all-time top 10 list. However, when incumbent starter and legendary QB Joe Montana struggled with injuries, Young took over the offense in 1992. That season, he won the NFL MVP award by going 14-2 with 3,465 passing yards and 25 TD throws.

That was the first of three straight seasons in which Young led the NFL in passing touchdowns. He guided the 49ers to victory in Super Bowl XXIX after the team finally overcame the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game. The Niners had fallen to Dallas in that game during the prior two seasons, which saw the Cowboys go on to win back-to-back Super Bowl championships.

  1. Ronnie Lott

Positions: Cornerback, Safety

Seasons with 49ers: 1981 to 1990

Former 49ers defensive back Ronnie Lott was one of the most prodigious defensive players of his era. Here are some of the things Lott accomplished in the 1980s (and 1990 season) with San Francisco:

  • He won 4x Super Bowls..
  • He earned seven First Team All-Pro selections and eight trips to the Pro Bowl
  • He was named to the NFL’s 1980s All-Decade Team.
  • He played well enough to be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well as the NFL’s 75th and 100th Anniversary Teams.
  1. Joe Montana

Position: Quarterback

Seasons with 49ers: 1979 to 1992

This ranking feels unfair because former San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana potentially belongs on a Mount Rushmore of the all-time greatest NFL players … full stop. However, he will have to settle for the No. 2 spot on this list, because even his four Super Bowl wins, three Super Bowl MVP awards, two NFL MVP awards, and eight Pro Bowl appearances are not enough for the man known as Joe Cool to rank ahead of his favorite receiver.

After a standout senior season at Notre Dame, Montana had to wait until the third round of the 1979 NFL Draft to hear his named called by the 49ers. He quickly proved scouts wrong by guiding San Francisco from a 2-14 record in 1979 and 6-10 record in 1980 to a 13-3 season in 1981 that ended with a Super Bowl championship. The Pro Football Hall of Famer holds every meaningful 49ers passing record.

  1. Jerry Rice

Position: Wide Receiver

Seasons with 49ers: 1985 to 2000

It is former San Francisco wide receiver Jerry Rice, not his quarterback, Joe Montana, who takes home the honor here as the best 49ers player of all time. Unlike Montana, Rice is hands-down the best player at his position in NFL history. He holds the NFL career records for receptions, receiving yards, and receiving TD. His 22,865 career receiving yards (19,247 of which came during his years with the 49ers) are over five thousand more than the player in second place on the list (Larry Fitzgerald with 17,492).

Rice was also a three-time Super Bowl champion, a two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year, and a 10-time First Team All-Pro selection with the 49ers. He is a member of both the NFL’s 1980s and 1990s All-Decade Teams as well as the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Rice is still beloved by 49ers fans and is arguably the greatest football player of all time and the best 49ers wide receiver in history.

Parameters of Rankings

These rankings are based on a combination of each player’s individual accomplishments, overall team success, each player’s franchise legacy, and personal accolades and honors earned by each player during his years with the 49ers.

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