The 49ers Should Select Cornerback Sidney Jones in the NFL Draft
By Jonah Burros
Current Personnel
San Francisco has over 20 additions to the roster to date before the draft on April 27th. All of these additions are lower-key depth signings across the board. With the exception of Kyle Juszczyk and Pierre Garcon on offense, there were not any high profile signings.
San Francisco 49ers
49ers starting cornerback Tramaine Brock was released, following a domestic battery charge and arrest on April 11. He held the No. 1 corner spot over the past few years but was widely considered to not fit in the new scheme.
The secondary added CB K’Waun Williams to a one-year deal, a pass defender considered to be a nickel corner, who sat out last year due to an ankle injury. Williams showed promise before his injury and is considered to be a depth/value signing.
Converted safety, and recent nickel Jimmie Ward –a former first-round pick of the Niners in 2014 — has had injury concerns of his own. But Ward has proven to be versatile and effective. Given his safety status in college, he is a chess piece in the plans of San Francisco going forward and could play any position in the secondary.
San Francisco drafted Rashard Robinson in the fourth round last year, and he proved to be one of former general manager Trent Baalke’s few successes. He proved to be a formidable pass defender and shows a lot of promise going forward as an outside cover corner.
Behind the mentioned players, the 49ers do not have any standout players in the secondary. Considering the new scheme and the depth on the roster, San Francisco will most certainly need to address this in the draft.
All things considered, there are a lot of needs for a 2-14 team starting a ground up rebuild. Given the depth of the defensive prospects in this draft, addressing multiple positions with blue-chip prospects is ideal but all the while difficult.