Joe Montana emerged as San Francisco's starting quarterback in 1980 but the 49ers were not without issues.
Montana replaced Steve DeBerg at quarterback in November and engineered three victories in a 6-10 season. He gave the 49ers hope. But the problem wasn't the offense. It was the other side of the ball. San Francisco couldn't stop anyone, allowing 415 points. The 49ers had the worst pass defense in the NFC, allowing 29 touchdown passes and an average of 234 yards per game.
So San Francisco went with a saturation draft that spring, claiming a defensive back in each of the first three rounds -- cornerbacks Ronnie Lott in the first and Eric Wright in the second and safety Carlton Williamson in the third.