Niner Noise
FanSided

5 top cornerbacks the 49ers can pursue in the 2019 NFL Draft

By Matt Stephenson

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 03: Jerry Jeudy #4 of the Alabama Crimson Tide tries to avoid the tackle of Greedy Williams #29 of the LSU Tigers in the second quarter of their game at Tiger Stadium on November 03, 2018 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 03: Jerry Jeudy #4 of the Alabama Crimson Tide tries to avoid the tackle of Greedy Williams #29 of the LSU Tigers in the second quarter of their game at Tiger Stadium on November 03, 2018 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CA – JANUARY 07: Trayvon Mullen #1 of the Clemson Tigers celebrates his sack against Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi’s Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – JANUARY 07: Trayvon Mullen #1 of the Clemson Tigers celebrates his sack against Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi’s Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

With the San Francisco 49ers’ secondary struggling throughout 2018, it’s an area that needs to be addressed and fixed this offseason. With several great cornerbacks coming up in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Niners will need to pay close attention to the top prospects.

Simply put, the San Francisco 49ers had a terrible season, especially when it comes to the secondary. And as Niner Noise’s Peter Panacy recently pointed out, Pro Football Focus has ranked the 49ers’ secondary as the worst in the league for 2018…no surprise, really.

The Niners defensive backs struggled in just about all facets of the game, from man to zone coverage. And although not quite the player he was prior to his Achilles injury in 2017, cornerback Richard Sherman provided enough stability and security to scare most quarterbacks off from throwing to the left side of the field.

The right side was another story, with cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon regressing somewhat from what was a promising finish to his 2017 rookie season. While Witherspoon did see improvement as the season progressed, his chance for redemption was cut short following a PCL injury in the Niners’ Week 15 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Corners Tarvarius Moore and Greg Mabin saw increased snaps throughout the year due to injuries and underperforming players. Gaining snaps under his belt, Moore has started to look like a player who with further development can be a serious contributor to the Niners’ backfield. While Mabin continued to struggle right up until the end. He was targeted by quarterbacks, often yielding good results for the opposing offense.

As an area on the field that needs to be tightly protected on game day, the 49ers will need to bolster their backfield with some skillful players in the draft. With the Niners having some high draft picks, let’s take a look at the top five corners who are garnering some attention.