49ers’ all-2000s team: Hard-nosed defenders drove NFC title teams

This is the first in a series on the major Bay Area pro teams’ top performers of the last 25 years. The all-2000s Giants, Sharks and Warriors will be unveiled over the next week.

SANTA CLARA – Steve Mariucci displayed a clock at 49ers headquarters reading “NOW … NOW … NOW” instead of the usual intervals of “1 … 2 … 3 … etc.” This emphasized the urgency required in the NFL.

He was the 49ers’ coach when I came aboard as a beat writer in 2000. Back then, we had greater media access – to practices, players, coaches — and that taught us valued insight we passed onto you.

Picking this All-49ers team after Y2K (Year 2000) proved an exercise in fun nostalgia and surprising debate, with no Lombardi Trophy to boost anyone’s case.

Here are the best of the best, from then to NOW:

Quarterback

First team: Brock Purdy

Second team: Jeff Garcia

Honorable mention: Jimmy Garoppolo, Colin Kaepernick, Alex Smith

Analysis: This was the hardest selection, essentially having to weigh Garcia’s gritty tenure against Purdy’s better playoff showings and 2023 stats on a blockbuster team. Garcia was a local boy (Gilroy, San Jose State) who eventually emerged from Steve Young’s shadow to reach three Pro Bowls, deliver two playoff berths and set 49ers passing records. Purdy surpassed Garcia’s single-season passing record (4,280 yards) a year ago, and his four career playoff wins give him big-time clout, even if he’s just 13-12 in his past 25 regular-season starts. Also posting 4-2 records in the playoffs were the feels-great-baby Garoppolo and the dual-threat Kaepernick, while Smith’s lone win (January 2012 over the Saints) revitalized the franchise.

Running back

First team: Frank Gore

Second team: Christian McCaffrey

Honorable mention: Garrison Hearst, Raheem Mostert

Analysis: Gore arrived as a 2005 third-round pick with surgically repaired knees, then spent 10 seasons setting the franchise record for most rushing yards, including eight 1,000-yard campaigns. McCaffrey has only played one full season since arriving in October 2022 and winning 2023 AP NFL Offensive Player honors (league-best 19 touchdowns, 2,302 scrimmage yards). Hearst won 2021 Comeback Player of the Year after a two-year recovery from a lower-leg injury. Mostert unforgettably ran for four touchdowns and 220 yards in the 2019 team’s NFC Championship Game win over Green Bay.

Wide receiver

First team: Terrell Owens, Deebo Samuel

Second team: Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin

Honorable mention: Brandon Aiyuk, Marquise Goodwin, Torrey Smith, Brandon Lloyd

Analysis: Owens morphed into a physically dominant Hall of Fame receiver with dramatic effect. Samuel’s career may have crested in 2021 but his versatility and playoff panache gave him the first-team nod over Crabtree and Boldin, the latter of whom played with Hall of Fame-worthy intensity and leadership even as the 49ers’ championship window closed.

Tight end

First team: George Kittle

Second team: Vernon Davis

Honorable mention: Delanie Walker, Garrett Celek

Analysis: Kittle is not only the most proficient tight end in 49ers history, he passed Dwight Clark this season for the third-most receptions and receiving yards behind Jerry Rice and Owens. Kittle is 33 yards from his fourth 1,000-yard season, and no other tight end in 49ers history has one. Davis ranks sixth in catches (441) and seventh in yards (717).

Left tackle

First team: Joe Staley

Second team: Trent Williams

Honorable mention: Derrick Deese

Analysis: Staley does not have the multiple first-team All-Pro accolades as his successor, Williams, but from 2007-19, the 49ers relied so heavily on Staley to protect quarterbacks’ blindsides, block for their all-time leading rusher (Gore) and serve as a spokesman in good times and bad en route to 181 games and two Super Bowl appearances.

Left guard

First team: Mike Iupati

Second team: Larry Allen

Honorable mention: Laken Tomlinson, David Baas, Aaron Banks

Analysis: Allen wrapped up his Hall of Fame career on the 49ers’ 2006-07 losing teams, and while he’s easily their most talented guard the past 25 years, the top spot in this exercise goes to Iupati (three Pro Bowls, 2012 All-Pro).

Center

First team: Jeremy Newberry

Second team: Jonathan Goodwin

Honorable mention: Alex Mack, Daniel Kilgore, Eric Heitmann, Jake Brendel

Analysis: Newberry is another local-boy-makes-good story as the Antioch native and Cal product anchored the center spot from 2000-05. He made two Pro Bowls – and even the cover of the 49ers’ media guide. Goodwin started every game in the 2011-13 seasons, each of which reached at least the conference title game.

Right guard

First team: Alex Boone

Second team: Daniel Brunskill

Honorable mention: Ron Stone, Dave Fiore, Justin Smiley

Analysis: Boone blossomed and enjoyed longevity (2010-15) at a position that turned over more starters than any other spot in the past 25 years. Brunskill’s uncanny brilliance against Aaron Donald was a fun watch. Fiore and Stone were strong starters at the turn of the century.

Right tackle

First team: Mike McGlinchey

Second team: Anthony Davis

Honorable mention: Scott Gragg

Analysis: Close call across the board among these interchangeable right tackles. McGlinchey’s run blocking was elite and got him paid by Denver in 2023. Davis started every game his first four seasons (2010-13) as the 49ers returned to playoff relevance. Gragg paid off as a sturdy free agent acquisition (2000-04).

Defensive end

First team: Nick Bosa, Aldon Smith

Second team: Andre Carter, Julian Peterson

Honorable mention: Ray McDonald, Manny Lawson, Dee Ford

Analysis: Bosa won AP NFL Rookie of the Year (2019) and NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2022) honors en route to the NFL’s richest non-quarterback contract. Smith’s troubled tenure (2011-14) opened with 14 ½ sacks as a rookie and a team-record 19 ½ for 2019 All-Pro honors en route to the Super Bowl.

Defensive tackle

First team: Bryant Young, Justin Smith

Second team: Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner

Honorable mention: Isaac Sopoaga, Anthony Adams, Ian Williams, Earl Mitchell, Quinton Dial

Analysis: Young spent all 14 seasons of his Hall of Fame career with the 49ers (1994-2007) and won their Len Eshmont Award a record eight times. Smith was a two-time Eshmont winner who earned All-Pro honors at both defensive tackle and defensive end in 2011 and ’12. Armstead and Buckner were first-round forces out of Oregon who just nudged out Sopoaga.

Linebacker

First team: Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, Fred Warner

Second team: Derek Smith, Jeff Ulbrich, Ahmad Brooks

Honorable mention: Takeo Spikes, Dre Greenlaw, Azeez Al-Shaair, Michael Wilhoite

Analysis: Willis went from 2007 NFL Rookie of the Year to a Hall of Famer, needing only 7 ½ seasons to do so thanks to his amazing force, speed and instincts. Bowman was headed down the same path before his knee injury in the 2013 season’s NFC title game. Warner is a three-time All-Pro who’s played through a fractured leg this season. This is the deepest unit post-Y2K, and Greenlaw merits a second-team nod if only he’d stayed healthier.

Cornerback

First team: Richard Sherman, Carlos Rogers

Second team: Walt Harris, Shawntae Spencer

Honorable mention: Terrell Brown, Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir, Dontae Johnson, Ahmed Plummer

Analysis: Not a lot of gusto here but Sherman and Rogers proved crucial free-agent acquisitions on the 49ers’ returns to playoff contention. Ward and Lenoir have been a solid combination, and it’s Lenoir who the 49ers are banking on leading them for years to come.

Safety

First team: Dashon Goldson, Tony Parrish

Second team: Donte Whitner, Antoine Bethea

Honorable mention: Eric Reid, Jimmie Ward, Zach Bronson, Talanoa Hufanga

Analysis: Goldson developed into a two-time Pro Bowler, All-Pro and franchise-tagged safety over his 2007-12 tenure. It’s debatable whether the hard-hitting Whitner’s three seasons trumped the five-year tenure of Parrish, who racked up 22 interceptions, including nine in his 2003 All-Pro year.

Kicker

First team: Robbie Gould

Second team: Joe Nedney

Honorable mention: Phil Dawson, David Akers

Analysis: Gould’s steady foot produced the fourth-most points in 49ers history (704 points) from 2017-22 and the best in field-goal accuracy (87.5%), just ahead of Nedney (86.6%).

Punter

First team: Andy Lee

Second team: Mitch Wishnowsky

Honorable mention: Bradley Pinion

Analysis: A 2004 sixth-round draft pick produced Lee, their all-time leading punter (11 seasons, 176 games, 941 punts, 43,468 yards).

Kick returner

First team: Lamichael James

Second team: Allen Rossum

Honorable mention: Bruce Ellington

Analysis: James’ second-round status paid off best with a 62-yard kick return in the 2012 team’s upset at New England.

Punt returner

First team: Ted Ginn Jr.

Second team: Jimmy Williams

Honorable mention: Allen Rossum

Analysis: The 49ers have not returned a punt for a touchdown since Ginn did so in the 2011 season opener, right after he scored on a 102-yard kick return.

Long snapper

First team: Brian Jennings

Second team: Taybor Pepper

Honorable mention: Kyle Nelson

Analysis: Jennings enjoyed a 13-year career (2000-12) and made two Pro Bowls.

Head coach

First team: Kyle Shanahan

Second team: Jim Harbaugh

Honorable mention: Steve Mariucci

Analysis: None have cured the 49ers’ 30-year Lombardi Trophy drought. Don’t minimize Shanahan’s eight seasons, four of which reached the NFC Championship Game and two regrettable Super Bowl defeats.

Offensive coordinator

First team: Greg Roman

Second team: Greg Knapp

Honorable mention: Mike McDaniel

Analysis: Roman was at the offensive controls under Harbaugh during the 49ers’ 2011-14 renaissance. Knapp was a 49ers assistant from 1995-2003 and remains beloved in the NFL community after his 2021 death.

Defensive coordinator

First team: Vic Fangio

Second team: Robert Saleh

Honorable mention: Jim Mora, DeMeco Ryans

Analysis: The witty Fangio lorded over the 49ers’ defense from 2011-14, while that coordinator post was a stepping stone to head coaching jobs for Mora (Falcons), Saleh (Jets), and Ryans (Texans).