1981 Draft: When Bold Moves Transformed 49ers Overnight

In coach Bill Walsh's first two years in San Francisco, the 49ers' defense was so woeful that only New Orleans allowed more points and only the Saints and Falcons allowed more passing yards and passing touchdowns.

Then the 1981 draft happened.

With four of its first five picks,, San Francisco chose defensive backs ... and the moves paid off immediately. Not only did the 49ers produce one of the league's top secondaries; they went to their first Super Bowl and won it.

But that can happen when you identify weaknesses and draft the right players to solve them. The 49ers did both. They chose Hall-of-Famer Ronnie Lott with their first pick, then Eric Wright in the second round, Carlton Williamson in the third and Lynn Thomas in the fifth.

Lott, Wright and Williamson became immediate starters. With Thomas as the nickelback, four of the five draftees were entrusted with stopping NFL passing games. 

Unusual? More like extraordinary. No team had started three rookies in a secondary since 1967. Moreover, since the common NFL-AFL draft that began in 1967, no team had taken four defensive backs in the first five rounds ... and only two have done it since.

The 1991 Oilers and the 2021 Raiders. 

However, neither of those teams fared as well as San Francisco. The Oilers' bunch didn't play much as rookies, and the Raiders in 2021 actually played worse than the previous year.

That didn't happen in San Francisco, and let us count the ways:

-- The 49ers' defensive passer rating (not an official statistic at the time) went from 28th in 1979-80 to fourth in 1981. 

-- Opponents' completion percentage went from the league's worst in 1979-80 to its seventh best one year later.

-- The 49ers went from 26th in passing yards allowed to third.

-- Touchdown passes allowed went from third worst to tied for sixth best.

San Francisco's opponents had been completing 62.9 percent of their passes -- which doesn't sound like much now -- but it was 1.2 percent worse than anyone else. Now you know why Walsh focused on one subject in pre-draft media sessions ... and it wasn't help for his offense.

"We are seeking a reservoir of defensive talent," Walsh said then. "We need overall defensive improvement and improvement in defensive talent.

"We simply have a number of positions that need strengthening, and we will be looking forward to obtaining the best players available. But we will concentrate on defense".

Specifically, they concentrated on their secondary. Granted, the 49ers' front seven wasn't particularly notable, but they weren't at the bottom in yards rushing allowed and sacks. The problem was pass coverage, and Walsh vowed to fix it.

Given the choice of "best player available" or need, Walsh made a critical decision that changed the trajectory of the franchise: He drafted for need.

In the first round, the 49ers' picked Lott, a USC All-American safety, with the eighth overall choice. Generally considered one of the top four of five players on the board, Lott was a no-brainer when he fell to the 49ers.

Had he been gone, there's no telling where they might have looked. With Walsh determined to overhaul his secondary, it might have been Dennis Smith ... or Ted Watts ... or Hanford Dixon. Fortunately for the 49ers, he didn't have to make that decision.

After Lott, the club chose Wright in the second round, Williamson in the third and Thomas in the fifth. Wright played safety at Missouri, while Williamson and Thomas were Pitt Panthers -- Williamson at strong safety, Thomas at cornerback.

The 49ers converted Lott and Wright to cornerback, and, along with Williamson, they joined veteran safety Dwight Hicks to turn around the 49ers' defense. But one more step was necessary before the makeover could be complete: The 49ers found a missing piece for their pass rush.

They traded for Hall-of-Famer Fred Dean.

With those moves, the 49ers dug themselves out of a deep hole -- as dramatic a turnaround in one year as possible. Lott was a consensus All-Pro, Hicks was a second-team All-Pro and both went to the Pro Bowl. Lott also returned three interceptions for touchdowns, while Hicks returned one and added another on a fumble return..

Both were named to the NFL's All-Rookie team, while Lott was runner-up to Lawrence Taylor as Defensive Rookie of the Year. He also won votes for Defensive Player of the Year.

Clearly, the 49ers' need was filled ... and it was done with rookies.

This time of year, "best player available" is a familiar refrain, and it often works. But drafting for need can work, too. In fact, sometimes it's the better choice, as the 49ers demonstrated in 1981.

They not only gained a Lombardi Trophy with that strategy but obtained one of the NFL's best secondaries through 1985 -- the years the class of '81 stayed together.