49ers 2017 NFL Draft Positional Preview: Cornerback

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Dec 24, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Tramaine Brock (center) runs upfield with a first quarter interception followed by cornerback Rashard Robinson (33) and outside linebacker Eli Harold (58) on a pass intended for Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin (not pictured) at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports /

Breaking Down the Cornerback Stats

We’ve already discussed some of the Pro Football Focus numbers San Francisco corners boasted a year ago.

While Brock’s 81.8 mark looks impressive, no one else on the 49ers 2016 roster (outside of Jimmie Ward, who probably moves to safety) boasted more than a lowly 64.0 grade last season.

There’s another concerning stat stemming from this group:

Defense & Fumbles Table
	Games	Def Interceptions	Fumbles	Sacks & Tackles
No.	Player	Age	Pos	G	GS	Int	Yds	TD	Lng	PD	FF	Fmb	FR	Yds	TD	Sk	Tkl	Ast	Sfty
26	Tramaine Brock	28	LCB	16	16	1	39	0	39	14	1	0	0	0	0		48	10
25	Jimmie Ward	25	RCB	11	10	1	8	0	8	12	1	0	1	0	0	1.0	42	10
33	Rashard Robinson	21	rcb	14	6	1	0	0	0	8							25	3
27	Keith Reaser	25		15	0	0	0	0	0	5	2	0	0	0	0		20	3
36	Dontae Johnson	25		15	0	0	0	0	0	3							6	3
20	Marcus Cromartie	26		10	0						0	0	1	0	0		3	0
43	Chris Davis	26	c	4	1						0	1	0	0	0	0.5	0	2

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/4/2017.

Note the lack of turnovers, especially interceptions.

With Ward out of the picture, San Francisco’s corners last year generated just two picks.

The 49ers have lacked a true ballhawking cornerback for some time now. There isn’t exactly someone on the roster inspiring the shutdown mentality either. This is the approach which made the Seahawks defense so good in recent years.

But the Niners lack anything closely resembling what Seattle has been able to do within its secondary.

So that leads us to the NFL Draft.