49ers’ 2018 ‘Who Is?’ series: Cornerback Richard Sherman
By Peter Panacy
Projected Impact with the 49ers in 2018
Outside the mentorship role Sherman has already assumed during OTAs and minicamp, the 49ers will be looking at the All-Pro to hold down a true No. 1 corner assignment this upcoming season and beyond.
San Francisco 49ers
In a sense, though, Sherman won’t be deployed as a “No. 1” corner automatically assigned to an opponent’s top receiver.
He’ll start, of course, but Robert Saleh’s Seattle-style defense merely assigns cornerbacks a side of the field. Last year, as it should be expected in 2018, Sherman occupied the left outside-corner spot. Opposite him will be second-year pro Ahkello Witherspoon, who flashed plenty of promise his rookie campaign.
This is true to form for zone coverages. You won’t typically see Sherman follow opposing wide receivers in motion to the opposite side of the formation. Instead, he’ll stay in his zone and maintain that coverage as needed.
San Francisco is hoping to get more of Sherman’s All-Pro form in 2018. It’s been a long time since the 49ers have had a true shutdown corner, and Sherman is still the epitome of one.
As far as the stats go, we may not see a massive increase in the interceptions and passes defended that made Sherman a household name. Hopefully, if things work out well enough, his presence will force opponents’ quarterbacks to target other areas of the field.
In that sense, Sherman’s teammates in the secondary will possibly see a nice boost in production and effectiveness.
Next: 49ers 2018 offseason positional preview: Cornerback
For as interwoven as secondaries can be, this is an excellent thing for both Sherman and San Francisco.