Niner Noise
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San Francisco 49ers: Top 5 players who have underachieved the most in 2017

By Peter Panacy

SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 02: Center Daniel Kilgore #67 of the San Francisco 49ers prepares to snap the ball during the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at Levi's Stadium on October 2, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 02: Center Daniel Kilgore #67 of the San Francisco 49ers prepares to snap the ball during the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at Levi's Stadium on October 2, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – OCTOBER 08: T.Y. Hilton #13 of the Indianapolis Colts catches a pass in front of K’Waun Williams #24 of the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter of a game at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 8, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – OCTOBER 08: T.Y. Hilton #13 of the Indianapolis Colts catches a pass in front of K’Waun Williams #24 of the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter of a game at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 8, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Cornerback K’Waun Williams

It was a little befuddling to see the Niners extend nickel cornerback K’Waun Williams to a three-year extension through 2020.

Williams, who made some noteworthy contributions with the Cleveland Browns in this role back in 2014 and 2015, missed all of 2016 before signing as a free agent with San Francisco last offseason.

The move made sense, but Williams hasn’t exactly lived up to expectations.

According to Pro Football Focus, Williams is ranked 114th out of 115 qualifiers at cornerback. That’s not particularly good, and opposing teams are targeting the 5-foot-9 slot corner with this in mind.

Williams has a league-worst 5.6 cover snaps per reception over the slot, per PFF, and opposing quarterbacks have a combined 103.5 passer rating when targeting him.

Perhaps Williams bounces back and looks more like his 2015 self down the stretch, but the first-half results haven’t been promising.