The secondary has been a prime problem for the San Francisco 49ers defense this season. And there’s a relatively easy way to provide a fix heading into Week 6.
On Monday, the San Francisco 49ers admitted their secondary wasn’t good enough as is.
The Niners waived rookie defensive back Lorenzo Jerome in favor of claiming former Los Angeles Chargers defensive back Dexter McCoil — a move, while surprising, suggested Jerome’s minimal impact through five games wasn’t enough to warrant a roster spot.
Regardless, San Francisco’s secondary is the worst positional group on that side of the ball. The Niners rank 28th in the league in pass yards allowed (1,249), and neither of their top-two cornerbacks — Rashard Robinson and Dontae Johnson — have put forth inspiring efforts.
San Francisco 49ers
Check out their overall grades and ranks, from Pro Football Focus, through five weeks:
- Rashard Robinson — 42.3, No. 95 overall
- Dontae Johnson — 40.8, No. 99 overall
Needless to say, this tandem isn’t performing up to expectations. And while there isn’t any permanent or long-term solution, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh could implement a quick fix that might make things better in coming weeks.
Shifting 49ers Defensive Backs
Veteran safety Eric Reid is on pace to return from a knee injury suffered against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2.
That’s good news, as Reid has thrived in his role at strong safety.
But Reid’s pending return creates a bit of a problem — a good one, though, the Niners would like to have. Backup safety Jaquiski Tartt has been filling in well enough for Reid down in the box, amassing a solid 21 tackles, en route to an overall PFF grade of 88.9.
Considering Tartt’s prowess in Reid’s absence, does it make sense to bench the former in Week 5?
Not exactly.
In Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers, Tartt — filling in at free safety for a just-returned-from-injury Jimmie Ward — showed his ranginess by making the incredible one-handed interception shown below:
You can’t see Tartt at the beginning of the frame, but he did cover a lot of ground on the play.
See the solution, at least the beginning of it? Saleh should put Reid back in at strong safety, therefore allowing Tartt to remain on the field and hold down the free safety spot at the back end of San Francisco’s defense. Tartt has done so before, and the results have looked good.
But what about Ward?
Put Jimmie Ward at Cornerback
Remember, 2017 marks the first year Ward is playing his natural position full time at the NFL level.
But fans will recall Ward spend the first three years at cornerback, first nickel and then transitioning to the outside roles in 2015 and 2016. And even when San Francisco’s defense was historically bad a year ago, Ward’s overall PFF grade came in at a solid 74.5.
And that was as a corner.
Placing Ward at cornerback would force him to rely more on man-cover skills and less on zone. It’s a bit of a drawback, but it isn’t as if we can point out any lack of experience here.
Even if head coach Kyle Shanahan feels otherwise:
Shanahan said he believes Jimmie Ward has a chance to be a really good safety, so they want to keep him there and not move him to CB.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) October 9, 2017
Additionally, the move would push San Francisco’s other two corners, Robinson and Johnson, down a spot on the depth chart. More importantly for Robinson, who is still developing in year two of his career, he wouldn’t be tasked with covering opponents’ top receivers anymore. That job would fall to Ward, who has the experience to do just that.
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Such a move would take advantage of the Niners’ adequate depth at safety while also providing more-capable playmakers at the team’s greatest defensive positional weakness.
If it doesn’t work, there isn’t any harm done. It isn’t as if the move involves a transaction or a cut, potentially parting ways with a budding player.
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Still, Saleh needs to give it a shot, providing an upgrade within a hard-pressed 49ers secondary.