Harris Barton was a highly sought-after player in the 1987 Draft after the Offensive Lineman had a very good college career with North Carolina.  San Francisco chose him with the 22^ndOverall Pick, and Barton would be the starting Right Tackle, earning All-Rookie accolades.

By today’s standards, the way Y.A. Tittle arrived to the San Francisco 49ers was unique. The LSU Quarterback was the Sixth Overall Pick in 1948 when the Detroit Lions took him, but he opted to sign with the Baltimore Colts of the AAFC instead.  Tittle did well, and the Colts were one of the teams that merged with the NFL when the AAFC merged with the NFL, but this first incarnation of the Colts was short-lived as the Colts folded after only one year in the NFL.  All of the Colts were made eligible in the 1951 Draft, and San Francisco took tittle Third Overall.

A First Round Pick from Stanford in 1969, Gene Washington was part of the turnaround for the San Francisco 49ers from league doormats to respectability.  In his first four seasons in the National Football League, Washington would go to the Pro Bowl, with three of those years seeing him earn First Team All-Pro accolades.

After seven years with the Cincinnati Bengals, Justin Smith signed with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played another seven years.  It is very clear that the second half with the Niners was the far more successful portion.

In his first two seasons in the National Football League, the Fifth Round Pick from Iowa started eight Games at Left Corner Back and five at Strong Safety.  Hanks did well enough, but he was moved to Free Safety in 1993, and this was the position where he would flourish.

NaVorro Bowman was a star at Penn State, translating into a Third Round Draft Selection by the San Francisco 49ers.

Bryant Young was the Seventh Overall Pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 1994, and the All-American from Notre Dame won the starting Left Defensive Tackle job as a rookie.

Before there was Joe Montana and Steve Young, there was John Brodie, who played his entire 201-Game career with the San Francisco 49ers.

Keith Fahnhorst stood at 6’ 6” and tipped the scales at 275 pounds, so he brought a lot of size to the San Francisco 49ers who drafted him in the Second Round of the 1974 Draft.

A First Round Pick from Washington, Hugh McElhenny traveled down the Interstate-5 to begin his professional football career.

The 2007 28^thOverall Draft Pick from Central Michigan, Joe Staley started at Right Tackle in his rookie year for San Francisco before being moved to Left Tackle, where he remained their starter for well over a decade.

Bob St. Clair was a Third Round Pick from Tulsa in the 1953 Draft, and the player they called the "Geek" would make the San Francisco area his home for the rest of his life.

Frank Gore will go down in history as one of the most durable and ageless Running Backs of the game.  That all began in San Francisco.

From Chattanooga, Terrell Owens was drafted in 1996’s Third Round by the San Francisco 49ers, and he found out quickly that his talents were worthy of the National Football League.

Joe Perry played football for the Naval Air Station Alameda, after a stint in the military, and despite being African-American in the 1940s and playing for a non-big-time school, Perry was highly scouted by both the NFL and the upstart All-American Football Conference.  Perry opted for the San Francisco of the AAFC over the Los Angeles Rams, and the Fullback became the first black player in team history.

Drafted from the University of Oregon in the Third Round in 1964, Dave Wilcox won the Left Linebacker role during his rookie season, and he would hold on to it until he retired after the 1974 Season.

There have many Running Backs who were equally capable of the receiving game, but there can only be one groundbreaker.  That man was Roger Craig.

The professional football career of Patrick Willis was considered brief, as he only played eight seasons, but they were electric campaigns.

Debuting for the San Francisco 49ers as a Second Round Pick from UCLA in 1976, Randy Cross played his entire 13-year career with the Niners, where he would help them win three Super Bowls.

How good an athletic family did Jimmy Johnson come from?  The Pro Football Hall of Famer was the brother of the 1960 Olympic Gold Medalist (Decathlon), Rafer Johnson.