“We’re taking Terrell Owens,” San Francisco 49ers scouts reveal how they made one of the best franchise signings in the NFL draft
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Terrell Owens
The San Francisco 49ers made one of the best draft decisions in the history of their franchise in the 1996 NFL draft when they decided to draft a wide receiver named Terrell Owens. The franchise drafted Owens as their 89th overall pick in the third round of the draft, and the move brought them great success in years to follow.
Vinny Cerrato and Jim Gruden of the 49ers were in the position to draft players that day, and the duo revealed how things went down point by point, through which they ended up having Terrell Owens on their roster. The 49ers were in line alongside the Buffalo Bills and the Carolina Panthers both of who were to choose before them.
Terrell Owens is one of the best players to play for the San Francisco 49ers
The Bills and the Panthers chose safety Matt Stevens and J.C. Price as their 87th and 88th picks respectively, while the 49ers chose Terrell Owens who was a relatively unknown commodity at that time.
“I told George, ‘We’re three picks away. We have three names. And they’re all guys that we really like,’” Cerrato who was the 49ers’ director for player personnel said. “‘And we’re going to get one of them.’”
“Bam, bam — the first two guys went right before us,” Cerrato said, “And it was, ‘OK, we’re taking T.O.’” Gruden said, “The (Bills and Panthers) took them, bang, bang — just like that — and that left us T.O.”
Terrell Owens played 8 seasons with the 49ers from 1996 to 2003 and etched his name into the franchise history books forever. He was inducted into the San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame.
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