49ers News: SF Legend Jerry Rice Picks Which HoF QB Was His Favorite

Former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice is a legendary player in his own right, and considered by many to be the "greatest of all time" at the receiver position. Though Rice is arguably the greatest, he certainly got some help by great quarterback play during his career. Just on the 49ers, Rice got to play alongside two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Joe Montana and Steve Young, along with a Pro Bowl quarterback in Jeff Garcia.

But which of these passers was his favorite? Former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson asked Rice that question on the "All Facts No Brakes" podcast. Rice's answer? Joe Montana.

"Joe Montana and I, we had such chemistry man," Rice said. "Then you had Steve Young come along and I was able to put up outstanding numbers with Steve Young. Through all the quarterbacks I went through, I was able to adjust to their strengths."

"If I had to pick one, it would probably be Joe Montana, because we had great chemistry," Rice told Johnson.

Rice experienced the heights of his career when Montana and Young were his quarterbacks. Rice started out his NFL career in 1985 catching passes from Montana. At that point, Montana was already a two-time Super Bowl champion. With Rice on board, Montana and the 49ers' offense reached new heights.

After a shaky regular season in 1988 for the 49ers, Montana and Rice led the way to the team's third Super Bowl appearance. In Montana's third Super Bowl and Rice's first, Rice had one of the greatest receiving performance by a wide receiver in Super Bowl history. Rice caught 11 passes for 215 yards and one touchdown and won the Super Bowl MVP award. His 215 yards is still the NFL record for the most receiving yards in a Super Bowl.

Rice and Montana would follow up that performance with an even more prolific one in 1989, when Montana won the NFL MVP award for the first time in his career and Rice led the league in receiving yards for the second time in his career. They would go on to win the Super Bowl again, with Montana throwing five touchdowns and Rice catching three touchdown passes. Their chemistry was undeniable.

Rice's career didn't stall one bit when Young took over as quarterback for the 49ers in 1991. In fact, Rice would lead the league in receiving yards three times with Young, and win one more Super Bowl. Additionally, Rice would put up the greatest season of his career statistically with Young. In 1995, Rice set the NFL single-season receiving yards record with 122 receptions for 1,848 yards and 15 touchdowns. His record stood for almost 20 years before Calvin Johnson broke it.

Overall, Rice had a tremendous career with both Montana and Young throwing to him, but he gives the edge to Montana.