San Francisco 49ers: Breaking Down Depth Chart at Cornerback

The San Francisco 49ers drafted three cornerbacks to bolster a secondary that struggled a year ago with injuries and inconsistent play. With the division becoming increasingly offense-minded, this group is very young and will need to grow quickly to absorb the typical lumps of the NFL. Let’s take a closer look at the players who will be looking to make a stand in 2016.

The 49ers secondary went from a experienced, dependable group under former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to a very young, unproven group in a matter of two years. Rather than adding expensive free agent options, general manager Trent Baalke has invested heavily in the draft to re-bolster the secondary stocks.

The results in 2015 were mixed. The passing defense ranked 27th in the league surrendering 4,179 total yards (261.2 yards per game). The run defense didn’t fare much better, ranking a terrible 29th allowing 126.3 rush yards per game.

The secondary took a major hit when the most experienced player in the secondary, safety Antoine Bethea, went down with a torn pectoral muscle. This forced the rapid acceleration of learning on the fly on players such as Jimmie Ward, Jaquiski Tartt, Dontae Johnson and Kenneth Acker.

The one stable in the equation was Tramaine Brock. Per Pro Football Focus, Brock ranked 37th out of 111 qualified cornerbacks with a grade of plus-77.7 (from a zero to 100 scale). Brock typically held up his side of the field. As the season wore on, he was assisted by Ward, who ranked just above him at plus-78.2 (from the same scale).

Dec 27, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) blocks San Francisco 49ers cornerback Tramaine Brock (26) during the fourth quarter at Ford Field. Lions win 32-17. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

The other side of the field was a turnstile. Acker was given time, as was Johnson. Acker was benched, due to his poor coverage skills. He graded out at a plus-55.6 in pass coverage (from a zero to 100 scale), which was by far the worst mark on the team.

Keith Reaser was given a look, but barely played. He saw a mere 82 snaps, but his pass coverage graded slightly higher at plus-64.9 (from the same scale). Due to the changes on the field and injuries, the defense could only muster 9 interceptions, which was tied for second-worst in the NFL.

With the additions of Will Redmond, Rashard Robinson and Prince Charles Iworah via the draft, how will the cornerback position shape up in 2016? These are the probable starting cornerbacks for this season (players below dependent on scheme and matchups).

Tramaine Brock

Brock is the team’s best corner and has improved every year. He is the oldest and most experienced corner on the squad. He had the best overall grade in 2015 at plus-3.1 per Pro Football Focus (h/t Peter Panacy of Ninernoise.com):

"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."

He is now entering the prime of his career and should be aiming to take over the secondary leadership role from Bethea. He should also embrace the mentor role of being a leader to the young and new 49ers corners. By doing this, he will help the play and the confidence of these players and set them on the right path to a (hopefully) successful NFL career.

Dontae Johnson

Johnson was given a more defined role late in the season and replaced the ineffective Acker. Johnson matches up well at 6’2″ with the taller receivers and showed excellent run defense and pass coverage qualities.

Johnson brings nice fluidity and ball-skills to the position. In the video below, he was matched up against now-retired Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson and flashed make-up speed and ball awareness to knock away the pass:

Johnson out-played Acker when he was given the chance to start and he deserves the first offering of the No. 2 cornerback role going into 2016. He is another young player who should grow and grow with more playing time and the support of the coaches and Brock.

Kenneth Acker

Acker was OK as the team’s 2nd cornerback, but his play deteriorated as the season wore on. As Peter Panacy notes, Acker finished with a negative PFF grade versus his teammates:

"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."

The question is now whether he will get the same opportunity in 2016. With a new defensive coaching staff and head coach, he will (like every other player on the roster) start OTAs and mini-camp with a fresh slate.

December 20, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones (82) catches a pass against San Francisco 49ers cornerback Kenneth Acker (20) during the third quarter at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Bengals 24-14. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

Acker is going into his third year, and even with a new scheme, he should be able to make deterministic improvement. Without it, he could easily slide back to a backup role or even off the team if this progress does not show up.

The extra competition may be the tonic for Acker to take the necessary improvements in his game to earn the right to start alongside Brock or be the top backup/substitute option depending on the scheme.

Jimmie Ward

Ward grew and grew as the 2015 season rolled on. Per PFF, he graded out as the highest ranked 49er cornerback, and he posted high grades in coverage and run defense. Ward was primarily the nickel back the last two seasons.

Baalke pointed out earlier this off-season Ward would be seeing more time at safety. Interestingly, in today’s OTAs, Ward lined up inside to cover the slot receiver, per Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area:

"Ward, the starting nickel back in his first two NFL seasons, moved inside to cover slot recievers against multi-receiver sets during the team’s first 11-on-11 work of the offseason program."

Ward is a vital asset in the secondary wherever he plays. With the ability to play either corner or safety, he adds an important flexible element to the 49ers defensive schemes and allows defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil to put him in more places on the field.

Ward is also going into his third campaign, so he should be able to continue to get better and become a team leader on the defensive side of the ball.

Depth players

The cornerback position is very young, which typically brings growing pains. However, competition breeds success, and if these players can gel quickly and understand and can run the schemes, these pains will be shorter rather than longer.

The depth at the position is terrific. With the draft additions of Redmond, Robinson and Iworah, Baalke was fixated in adding much more speed to the unit.

Oct 18, 2014; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Kentucky Wildcats wide receiver Ryan Timmons (1) is tackled by LSU Tigers defensive end Danielle Hunter (left) and LSU Tigers defensive back Rashard Robinson (right) in the first half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports /

Robinson and Iworah both ran in the 4.4 second range in their 40-yard dash performances at their pro day. Robinson brings more height at 6’1″ plus the speed, and Iworah is 5’11”, where he brings the ability to cover the slot receiver, a ball-hawking attitude and the ability to return punts. But can he make the team as a seventh-round pick?

Marcus Cromartie is another guy on the depth chart who can be of help. In limited snaps last season (125 total) he was strong against the run with a plus-77.6 grade (from a zero to 100 scale) per Pro Football Focus. He needs to improve in his coverage skills, but he has the time now to get better in this area of his game.

Players likely to be cut

Keith Reaser

Prince Charles Iworah

Chris Davis

It is hard to see any of these players making the final roster in 2016. Reaser has been passed by both Johnson and Acker, and the fact he barely saw the field in 2015 was worrisome. Perhaps the new coaches will have a higher opinion of him, but his weakness against the run will not be tolerated with the defensive emphasis of stopping the run in 2016.

Oct 22, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Keith Reaser (27) kneels on the field before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

As mentioned earlier, very few seventh-round draft picks make a final roster. Unless Iworah just blows up camp and becomes a interception machine and returns punts like Devin Hester, he is a likely candidate for the practice squad. He is an intriguing player and deserves the chance to stick around and learn the pro game.

Davis will likely just be a body victim – too many bodies for not enough positions. The 49ers invested too much in this draft on Redmond and Robinson to dump them too early, unless they just play putrid out of the gate and can’t show improvement.

More from Niner Noise

To have any semblance of a good defense in 2016, the secondary needs to make a massive improvement in pass and run coverage. The unit will be helped by the return of veteran safety Bethea. The secondary overall will need to be ready for division QBs in Russell Wilson, Carson Palmer and Jared Goff.

These QBs cannot be allowed to sling the ball down the field at will this season. The cornerbacks need to be able to cover and assist the defensive line in run support. It would be nice to see the defense go back to being a top-10 NFL defense.

Next: Bruce Ellington: Why the 49ers WR Will Be An X-Factor for 49ers Offense

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com, Sports-Reference.com and 49ers.com unless otherwise indicated.