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

3. Frank Gore – RB

For a guy who suffered a torn ACL not once, but twice during his college career at Miami, Frank Gore was not really expected to do much at the NFL level. Well, Gore has certainly proved all of his doubters wrong since entering the league in 2005.

After the 49ers selected the former Miami running back in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft, it didn’t take long for him to emerge as the team’s top option in their offensive backfield.

In just his second season with San Francisco, Gore finished with 1,695 rushing yards, 61 catches, 485 receiving yards, nine total touchdowns (eight rushing, one receiving), and his first career trip to the Pro Bowl.

2006 was the first of eight times in which he ended a year with at least 1,000 rushing yards, something no other 49ers player has ever accomplished more than three times in a red and gold uniform. Gore’s eight seasons with at least 1,000 yards while he was in a San Francisco uniform from 2005 to 2014 are also tied for the most of any NFL player during this time period.

Despite concerns about his durability before entering the league, the talented running back only missed a total of 12 games during his 10 seasons with the 49ers.

Being able to stay on the field led to Gore capturing a number of San Francisco all-time records including career rushing yards and rushing yards in a single season. His five career Pro Bowl selections are also the most ever by a 49ers running back during since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.