John Taylor, Patrick Willis are 49ers Hall of Fame inductees

The San Francisco 49ers during Wednesday’s State of the Franchise announced wide receiver John Taylor and linebacker Patrick Willis would both go into the Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. Hall of Fame.

Taylor and Willis will be honored during the club’s Week 15 home game against the Atlanta Falcons.

The 49ers selected Taylor in the third round of the 1986 draft out of Delaware State. He wound up spending nine seasons in San Francisco as a punt returner and receiver.

In 1988 he made his first of two Pro Bowls thanks to his league-best 556 punt return yards and two punt return touchdowns. The following year he was back in the Pro Bowl as a receiver thanks to his 60 receptions, 1,077 yards and 10 touchdowns. The yardage and touchdown totals in 1989 were his career highs.

Taylor amassed 347 receptions for 5,598 yards and 43 touchdowns while working as an integral part of three 49ers Super Bowl wins.

His biggest moment came in the waning minutes of Super Bowl XXIII when he hauled in a last-minute, game-winning touchdown from Joe Montana to put away the Bengals and secure the team’s third Lombardi trophy.

Willis was a first-round pick in 2007 and immediately made his mark on the league. He was a Pro Bowler, First-Team All-Pro, and Defensive Rookie of the Year all in his first season while racking up a league-best 174 tackles, eight tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.

That was the start of a career that saw Willis ascend to the elite tier of all-time great linebackers. He never won a Super Bowl, though he did play in one while helping spearhead a 49ers defense that helped define the early 2010s.

By the time he hung up his pads after the 2014 season, Willis had earned seven Pro Bowl nods and five First-Team All-Pro selections in just eight seasons. He stepped into the NFL as one of the league’s best, and maintained his position throughout his short career.

Willis finished his eight seasons with 950 tackles, 60 tackles for loss, 20.5 sacks, eight interceptions and 53 pass breakups. He was one of the early versions of the modern, athletic, sideline-to-sideline linebacker who’s also an asset in coverage. His induction into the 49ers’ Hall of Fame should only be the precursor to his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.