San Francisco 49ers 2016 Position Breakdown: Looking at the Cornerback Position

In this installment of Niner Noise’s position-by-position breakdown, we take a look at the 2016 San Francisco 49ers cornerbacks and try to assess how this unit will shape up by the time Week 1 of the regular season rolls around.

The San Francisco 49ers have likely cemented their top cornerback for the upcoming 2016 season.

This No. 1 slot will probably go to 27-year-old veteran Tramaine Brock, who assumed the same role a year ago. But determining who takes the No. 2 spot on the roster is a little more difficult to assess.

Last season, the 49ers placed second-year pro Kenneth Acker into a starting role — a position he held for much of the year before seeing his playing time cut towards the tail end of 2015. Acker was part of a deep, yet inexperienced crop of cornerbacks reinforced by guys like Dontae Johnson, Keith Reaser and Marcus Cromartie.

Competition for jobs this year will only get tougher as 49ers general manager Trent Baalke added even more corners to the roster via the 2016 NFL Draft. San Francisco added three in total: Will Redmond, Rashard Robinson and Prince Charles Iworah.

Each one of these prospects comes with question marks but could wind up being bona fide figures in San Francisco’s defense.

But before we get to that point, let’s take a look at how the Niners fared at cornerback a year ago.

Recapping 2015

Brock was San Francisco’s highest-rated “pure” cornerback, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), and he finished the year with a plus-3.1 overall grade in 2015. And this was coming off a 2014 season in which Brock missed the vast majority of the year due to various injuries.

But the 49ers struggled to get consistent play from other cast members of the secondary.

Acker, who saw 823 snaps — second only to Brock’s 1,094 — received a minus-0.3 PFF grade on the year. Johnson, Cromartie and fellow corner Chris Davis all posted positive PFF overall grades in comparison, albeit with far fewer snaps.

One needs to point out nickel back Jimmie Ward’s role in 2015. He was rated by PFF as the Niners’ top-graded defensive back last year (plus-4.8), but we’ve already described Ward’s possible 2016 role on our breakdown of the 49ers’ safety position.

Acker was fourth on the team in tackles last year (53) and recorded one interception, but Brock beat out the two-year pro with 11 passes defended compared to Acker’s eight. Both players registered three interceptions apiece.

2016 49ers Cornerbacks

There will be a good amount of competition for depth on San Francisco’s roster this offseason.

It’s possible Baalke took a shotgun approach during the draft — select a large number of corners with the hope one or two of them turn into something serviceable, maybe even special.

Here’s a list of the Niners’ current cornerbacks, courtesy of the team’s website:

• Kenneth Acker
• Tramaine Brock
• Marcus Cromartie
• Chris Davis
• Prince Charles Iworah
• Dontae Johnson
• Keith Reaser
• Will Redmond
• Rashard Robinson
• Jimmie Ward

Ward is still listed as a corner, although he’s technically more of a hybrid defensive back who can play safety as well.

What to Watch for 2016

The No. 2 cornerback battle will be intriguing this offseason. Organized team activities, training camp and the preseason will give us a better gauge of how the 49ers are viewing the team’s depth chart — which players play on first-, second- or third-team units.

Johnson, who stands at 6’2″ and 200 pounds, may be an interesting player to watch during camp. Despite seeing only 380 snaps last year, his versatility and size might jell well with what San Francisco will want to do, defensively, this year.

But that could mean Acker is pushed out of the starting role. It’s not likely Acker is a cut candidate by any means. He has showcased some prowess. But the additions of more cornerbacks is also something to note.

Chief among these was the addition of Redmond in Round 3 of the draft.

Redmond could shift Ward out of the nickel corner role, although the rookie is coming off an ACL injury. According to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, Baalke fully expects Redmond to be ready for training camp.

Equally interesting was the addition of Robinson — a speedy, yet troubled player and one who was dismissed from Louisiana State University’s football program and hasn’t seen action since 2014.

Robinson and Redmond could push Reaser out of the picture during camp, according to Ryan Sakamoto of NinerFans.com.

Iworah may be little more than a camp body at this point and probably shouldn’t be considered anything more than a depth option and/or practice squad addition for the regular season.

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So the top-two storylines to watch as the regular season draws near will be what happens alongside Brock and what happens between Redmond, Robinson and Reaser.

How the 49ers go about handling the nickel corner role will also be a point of emphasis.

Keep an eye on which players are practicing with whichever units. It’s likely we’ll see some shuffling between now and the preseason as the 49ers want to get different looks from each player.

In the meantime, be sure to keep posted to Niner Noise for ongoing position-by-position analysis as San Francisco continues its offseason programs.

Next: Looking at 49ers Special Teams Unit in 2016

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.