San Francisco 49ers: Creating the ideal starting lineup for 2018
By Peter Panacy
Cornerback
Right Cornerback: Kyle Fuller
Left Cornerback: Ahkello Witherspoon
Nickel: K’Waun Williams
49ers fans need not worry about 2017 third-round draftee Ahkello Witherspoon heading forward. His impressive play, despite a sluggish start to the season, was reason enough for the Niners to part ways with oft-penalized corner Rashard Robinson midway through the year.
The question is, however, finding an adequate corner to play opposite Witherspoon.
There are a lot of free-agent corners on the market, and one might expect San Francisco to use this route to address the need.
Some, like the New England Patriots’ Malcolm Butler and the Los Angeles Rams’ Trumaine Johnson, are worth looks.
But for this opinion, the target should be Chicago Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller.
No corner in the NFL saw more targets than Fuller last year (119). It’s a bit puzzling, though, as opposing quarterbacks posted a passer rating of just 69.0 when targeting him, per Pro Football Focus. That number is significantly better than the 79.8 rating allowed by Johnson and the 96.6 rating allowed by Butler.
Yup, Fuller should be the guy.