The 49ers All-Underrated Team: Offense

Through five Super Bowl championships, the San Francisco 49ers history is filled with stars, but a few great players slipped through the cracks. This looks to identify the Niners best players since 1970 who didn’t get many accolades but were key contributors on the field. The 49ers All-Underrated Team on offense.

Quarterback
Brock Purdy merits mention here, but he’s more a case of all-unexpected. Given the current fan debates and the team’s plans for him going forward, he doesn’t qualify as all-underrated. Colin Kaepernick went to the Super Bowl and was talked up as the next wave of football.

For most underrated in the fewest games started, Steve Bono. In 1991, Steve Young went down to injury and Bono stepped in as the untested backup, losing his first game and then reeling off five straight wins. He completed nearly 60% of his passes for over 1,600 yards with 11 TD and 4 INT.

I give the all-underrated title to Alex Smith. Hard to do for the No. 1 pick, but Smith is an afterthought in 49ers history. In 2011, his best year under Jim Harbaugh, Smith led the Niners to a 13-3 record completing 61.3% for 3,144 yards with 17 TD and 5 INT. Under Harbaugh he was 19-5-1 and never selected to the Pro Bowl as a 49er.

Running Back
This position has been a point of emphasis for the Niners throughout their history from Joe Perry to Christian McCaffrey.

The what ifs are interesting, the Niners lost a draft coin flip to Detroit, otherwise they would have taken Billy Sims No. 1 in 1980, who could have been a critical part of two championship teams. In later years, Bill Walsh was very interested in Bo Jackson coming out of Auburn and was rumored to be in trade talks with Tampa Bay to try to land him.

Three backs are in the conversation for All-Underrated but fall just short. Elijah Mitchell’s rookie season, he played in 11 games starting ten, 207 carries for 963 yards and 1,100 total yards with no fumbles and six TDs. Wendell Tyler, a smart addition off the Rams. In the 1984 championship year, 1,262 yards rushing on 246 carries, nearly 1,500 yards of total offense with nine TDs but 13 fumbles. Delvin Williams in 1976, 272 carries for 1,258 yards, nearly 1,500 yards total offense, nine TDs and 3 fumbles.

My pick for all-underrated is Charlie Garner. In 1999, 1,229 yards rushing on 241 carries with 6 TD and 1,764 total yards and he was not named to the Pro Bowl. He was the following year when he had 10 TD and 1,789 total yards. Garner’s teams only won ten games in two years, so he’s been overlooked.

Fullback
The Niners are one of the few teams that has utilized fullbacks effectively for decades. Ken Willard in the sixties and early seventies, Wilbur Jackson through the late seventies, Tom Rathman in the eighties, William Floyd in the nineties, and Kyle Juszczyk today.

None of them qualify for all-underrated so my pick is Larry Schreiber, he and Wilbur Jackson were hybrid backs in 1974, each getting 174 carries. Schreiber ran for 637 yards and caught 30 passes for another 217 with four touchdowns. Over time Jackson became the feature back and Schreiber was the fullback.

Wide Receivers
John Taylor is a popular choice for underrated receivers, but he made two Pro Bowls and was named to the Hall of Fame’s 2nd Team for the 1980s. JT doesn’t qualify for this.

The first all-underrated receiver is a player that never made the Pro Bowl. In his best season, he caught 59 passes for 969 yards and 8 TDs. He had 43 touchdowns as a Niner. He also returned kicks and was Mr. Reliable on two championship teams. Freddie Solomon.

In 1978 after a series of injuries in the season finale, Solomon was pressed into emergency QB duties. He played quarterback in college at Tampa. Freddie threw 5-10 for 85 yards against Detroit, earning an ovation from the Lions crowd.

The 2nd all-underrated receiver is another player who should have made the Pro Bowl but has yet to do so. I expect that changes this year. Brandon Aiyuk. Last year 78 catches for 1,015 yards and 8 TDs.

Tight End
This is another 49er success story with several All-Pro and Pro Bowl players from Ted Kwalick and Russ Francis to Brent Jones, Vernon Davis, and George Kittle.

In 2004, this Niners tight end led the team in catches with 82 for 825 yards and 2 TDs. If there’s a brutal level to 49ers trivia, this is it, Final Jeopardy. Who is Eric Johnson? Yes, exactly. Which makes him the ultimate all-underrated player.

Offensive Line
Steve Wallace, John Ayers, Chris Dalman, Daniel Brunskill, Anthony Davis. Wallace received one Pro Bowl nod, the rest had none but were quality players. Ayers was a long-term fixture, starting at left guard for nine years. Dalman was an impact pro, his career was cut short by a neck injury. Brunskill’s versatility was a key asset. Davis was a reliable starter at right tackle for four years.

Additional players worth mentioning for excellence. Keith Fahnhorst did not get much publicity, but he was a rock at right tackle for a decade, hitting his peak in the Bill Walsh Era with an All-Pro season in 1984.

When Lawrence Taylor was rampaging through the league for the New York Giants, Walsh put five-time Pro Bowl guard Guy McIntyre in the backfield to slow down LT. Bill Parcells had no answer and the Niners beat the Giants. Mike Ditka took note of the move and put Refrigerator Perry in the backfield. None of that happens without Walsh and McIntyre. And LT.