7 Greatest San Francisco 49ers players of the 21st century

4. NaVorro Bowman – LB

After a successful college career at Penn State, NaVorro Bowman ended up getting selected by the 49ers in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Following a decent rookie year, Bowman was named a starter before the beginning of the 2011 season and it was one of the best decisions made by San Francisco in the recent past.

The talented linebacker ended up finishing the year with 143 tackles (13 for a loss), eight pass breakups, three fumble recoveries, two sacks, and his first of four-career First-Team All-Pro selections. Despite being named an All-Pro, Bowman was surprisingly left off the Pro Bowl roster in 2011.

Well, he made sure this didn’t happen again during his third season with the 49ers. In 2012, Bowman followed up his impressive campaign from the year before by racking up 148 tackles, seven pass breakups, two sacks, one forced fumble and one interception.

This time, his impressive performance resulted in a trip to the Pro Bowl. During his eight years with San Francisco, Bowman ended up earning a total of three Pro Bowl invitations.

During the 21st century, there weren’t very many 49ers defenders who played better than Bowman. And as good as he was, his career in San Francisco could have been even better if not dealing with a torn ACL in 2014 and a torn Achilles in 2016.

Even with his injuries, Bowman’s 709 tackles in a 49ers uniform are still the third-most by a San Francisco defender since 2000. His 154 tackles in 2015 are also the second-most in a single season in 49ers team history.