Niner Noise
FanSided

San Francisco 49ers: Post-free agency 2019 NFL Draft mock

By Peter Panacy

Michael Crabtree, San Francisco 49ers. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
Michael Crabtree, San Francisco 49ers. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 7
Next
EAST LANSING, MI – OCTOBER 15: Justin Layne #39 of the Michigan State Spartans returns an interception for a touchdown against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Spartan Stadium on October 15, 2016 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI – OCTOBER 15: Justin Layne #39 of the Michigan State Spartans returns an interception for a touchdown against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Spartan Stadium on October 15, 2016 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

The 49ers added Jason Verrett on a one-year, “prove it” deal. When healthy, Verrett is about as good a shutdown cornerback as there is today. The problem, though, is he is rarely healthy. He’s had only one full year with a clean slate of health — his Pro Bowl 2015 campaign — but missed all but four games in 2016, saw just one game in 2017 and missed all of 2018 with a ruptured Achilles.

More from Niner Noise

Pinning long-term hopes on Verrett isn’t a good idea.

And it’s also a steep hope to assume fellow corners Ahkello Witherspoon and Tarvarius Moore bounce back from disappointing 2018 campaigns. Even if one of them does, the Niners will soon have to think about replacing veteran cornerback Richard Sherman, who’ll turn 31 years old later this month.

One of the smart targets would be Michigan State corner Justin Layne. At 6-foot-2 and 192 pounds, Layne embodies what San Francisco seeks from boundary cornerbacks. Just check out what The Draft Wire’s Justin Melo wrote earlier this month:

"In today’s NFL, teams are always looking for big, athletic corners who have the size, length and physicality to hang with the league’s bigger receivers, but also the speed and athleticism to stifle the fastest pass-catchers."

That’s the embodiment of Layne, who uses his big size to his advantage and also thrives in zone coverage.