Niner Noise
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San Francisco 49ers free agency: Top 5 targets for 2018

By Peter Panacy

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 24: Trumaine Johnson #22 of the Los Angeles Rams attempts to tackle Jeremy Kerley #17 of the San Francisco 49ers during the second half of their game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 24, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 24: Trumaine Johnson #22 of the Los Angeles Rams attempts to tackle Jeremy Kerley #17 of the San Francisco 49ers during the second half of their game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 24, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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FOXBOROUGH, MA – JANUARY 21: Malcolm Butler #21 of the New England Patriots reacts in the fourth quarter during the AFC Championship Game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium on January 21, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA – JANUARY 21: Malcolm Butler #21 of the New England Patriots reacts in the fourth quarter during the AFC Championship Game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium on January 21, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Cornerback Malcolm Butler

The 49ers won’t target two high-profile cornerbacks on the free-agent market this offseason. So if the Rams’ Trumaine Johnson winds up being the target, that would all but cross off the Patriots’ Malcolm Butler from this list.

Butler, whose relatively odd benching during Super Bowl LII raised some eyebrows, figures to be one of the bigger free-agent targets around the league this offseason.

And he already has some supporters in San Francisco, namely wide receiver Pierre Garçon and safety Jaquiski Tartt:

Granted, NFL players don’t have the same kind of sway we’ve seen in the NBA lately. Although it certainly can’t hurt to have endorsements from respected and well-performing veterans on the roster.

At any case, the 49ers’ possibility of looking into Butler as a serviceable option next to Ahkello Witherspoon has its merits.

Look for at least one of these two high-profile corners to be on San Francisco’s radar.