San Francisco 49ers: 5 breakout candidates for 2018
By Aaron Tan
No. 4: Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon
Ahkello Witherspoon looked primed to be a bust at the beginning of last season. He was constantly getting burned by receivers in training camp and didn’t get significant playing time until Week 8.
San Francisco 49ers
However, that week against the Philadelphia Eagles — who would eventually win Super Bowl LII, Witherspoon came out and intercepted then-MVP candidate Carson Wentz. He did allow a long touchdown to Alshon Jeffery, but Witherspoon really couldn’t have played better coverage on the play. Jeffery just went up higher than Witherspoon and caught the ball over Witherspoon’s head.
Like the aforementioned Colbert, Witherspoon kept on impressing as the team’s now No. 1 cornerback for the rest of the 2017 season. He ended up with an “above average” grade of 81.1 from Pro Football Focus, which isn’t bad at all for a promising rookie.
And now Witherspoon has the perfect mentor in veteran corner Richard Sherman. Both are tall corners who excel in zone coverage. And Sherman, considered one of the best corners in this decade, can really help Witherspoon take that next big step to becoming a top player at his position.
In fact, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King wrote in his Monday Morning Quarterback column that Sherman is “convinced [that Witherspoon is] next.”
Sherman wants the young Witherspoon to become the next, well, Richard Sherman.
With the way Witherspoon closed out the 2017 season, I have a good feeling he will become just as much as a household name as Sherman was in his prime.
It’s funny how the Legion of Boom is essentially helping their divisional rival build their young core to become the league’s next most feared secondary, isn’t it?