Our previous NFL Thursday miniseries entry took us to the Emerald City, and now we’re off to Fog City, due south along the Best Coast: San Francisco. We know the 49ers have an impressive legacy, although the team only won its 5 NFL titles between 1981 and 1994—the rest of the organizational history was quite barren, in truth. Either way, there are some Hall of Fame players on this list, for sure, including some you don’t know.

No. 10: Joe Staley, T—104 AV (2007-2019)

He played right tackle as a rookie and then entrenched himself at left tackle for the next 12 seasons, making 6 Pro Bowls in the process—including 5 in a row from 2011-2015, during a team renaissance of sorts. He started 11 postseason games for the 49ers, too; among them were losses in Super Bowl XLVII and Super Bowl LIV. His peak seasons—2011, 2012, 2013—all featured 13 AV efforts. Two other times he posted 10 AV.

No. 9: Patrick Willis, LB—108 AV (2007-2014)

In his all-too-short career, he made the Pro Bowl in his first 7 seasons as a pro, and he retired after the eighth season. He was voted the Defensive ROTY, and Willis also posted double-digit AV marks in his first 7 seasons, with a high of 20 AV in 2009. He led the NFL in total and solo tackles in both 2007 and 2009, while generally being a menace all over the field. Willis made 71 total tackles in 8 postseason games, too: machine.

No. 8: Randy Cross, C/G—113 AV (1976-1988)

Perhaps more well known now for his broadcasting career, Cross was a staple of the first 3 Super Bowl championship teams in franchise history: 1981, 1984, and 1988. He survived the 2-win seasons in 1978 and 1979 to win Super Bowl XVI and reap the rewards of his hard work for many years after that. Cross was a center for his first 3 seasons and his last 2 seasons; in between, his work at right guard protected a legend.

No. 7: Bryant Young, DT/DE—117 AV (1994-2007)

He should have been the ROTY, but the voters screwed up, and strangely, this man made only 4 Pro Bowls. That defies logic for a player who regularly disrupted opposing offenses from the interior defensive line (1994-2003) and then from the outside late in his career (2005-2007). Young definitely was a force on the team’s last Super Bowl winner, in his rookie year, and then he anchored the defense for the next decade.

No. 6: John Brodie, QB—129 AV (1957-1973)

One of only 2 old timers on this list, Brodie’s career spans a few amazing eras of NHL history, culminating in his NFL MVP vote win in 1970. He made just 2 Pro Bowls while posting a 74-76-8 record as a starter and leading the league in both completions and yards in the same season 3 times. His 2-3 playoff record as a starter came after 3 straight NFC West Division titles from 1970 to 1972. Brodie was a man’s man at QB.

No. 5: Ronnie Lott, CB/FS—134 AV (1981-1990)

Probably one of the most popular 49ers ever, Lott led the team’s secondary for a decade before playing 4 seasons elsewhere to end his Hall of Fame career. He’s the first guy on this list so far to play for all 4 SB-winning teams of the 1980s, too. Lott registered double-digit AV marks in every season he played for the 49ers, and he led the NFL in interceptions once (1986). Did we mention the 9 Pro Bowls? And … this.

No. 4: Jimmy Johnson, DB/WR—146 AV (1961-1976)

Toiling in relative anonymity due to the 49ers’ lack of national success during his career, Johnson was a unique beast who played both offense and defense in the same season (1963). After starting 10 games at right cornerback in 1961 and picking off 5 passes, he started 7 games in 1962 at flanker while scoring 4 touchdowns. So, in 1963, he played both ways—impressive. In the end, he made 5 Pro Bowls as a corner.

No. 3: Joe Montana, QB—148 AV (1979-1990, 1992)

Montana missed the entire 1991 season to injury and barely made it back in 1992 before being traded away amid much controversy. But he’s the ultimate in QB excellence, we think: winner of 4 Super Bowls, including 2 with very underwhelming supporting casts on offense. He was the voted MVP twice (1989, 1990), and we gave him 3 SB MVPs, too. Montana made 7 Pro Bowls while with San Francisco, as well.

No. 2: Steve Young, QB—155 AV (1987-1999)

His 91-33 record as a starter with the team is impressive, although he couldn’t match that in the postseason at all (8-6), winning just one Super Bowl and losing 3 times on his home turf in the playoffs. Young retired as the NFL leader in QB rating, and he made the Pro Bowl 7 straight seasons with the 49ers (1992-1998). He was the voted NFL MVP in 1992 and 1994, although we didn’t agree. We did give it to him in 1996, however.

No. 1: Jerry Rice, WR—216 AV (1985-2000)

He was only ever as good as his QBs and his team, as his final 2 years in San Francisco proved, along with his first 2 seasons with his next team. But for the first 12-plus years of his career, Rice did a lot of great things on the catching end of passes from Hall of Fame QBs Montana and Young. Without them, he was merely average, sadly (see the Jeff Garcia years). Still, a lot of people consider him the GOAT; we don’t.