49ers’ 2019 ‘Who Is?’ series: Safety Marcell Harris

San Francisco 49ers strong safety Marcell Harris had some growing pains his rookie season last year, although he could be in position for a starting job in 2019. Niner Noise’s “Who Is?” series takes a look how.

The San Francisco 49ers haven’t had a ton of luck recent years grabbing collegiate players in the NFL Draft, who are coming off significant injuries.

Yet the team is hoping to reverse those fortunes a bit after grabbing former Florida safety Marcell Harris on day three in the 2018 NFL Draft. Despite missing his senior year with a torn Achilles, which kept him off the field for nearly half his rookie season a year ago, Harris showed enough flash down the stretch to suggest he can be a viable long-term piece for the Niners defense.

He needed to, particularly after San Francisco lost veteran safety Jaquiski Tartt to injured reserve later in the year, which led to Harris getting the start over five games to close out 2018.

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Generated 6/3/2019.

Heading into 2019, Harris is poised to battle with Tartt for the starting job. It’s a position battle Tartt likely has a leg up on, yet Harris being a strong candidate shows why he could be a valuable commodity this season.

And there’s a way both Harris and Tartt could start for San Francisco this year, too.

Why Marcell Harris Improves in 2019

After missing nearly a year and a half of on-field football activities, Harris was forced to shake off some of the proverbial “rust” upon his introduction to the NFL ranks in Week 9 last year.

One of Harris’ biggest problems early on was missed tackles. He missed eight in 2019, according to Pro Football Focus, which put him fourth most amid the 49ers defense and over just eight games played. And six of those were split between the Niners’ two games against their NFC West division rivals, the Seattle Seahawks, in Weeks 13 and 15.

Yet Harris also had some excellent open-field tackles, too, especially helping San Francisco pull off an impressive win over the Denver Broncos in Week 14 — Harris’ best-graded tackling game, per PFF.

If Harris is able to shore up the tackling aspect of his game, it should make him far more an effective defender and a solid candidate to secure either a starting job or immediate-reserve role.

Why Marcell Harris Regresses

Harris’ speed has never been great, even at the college ranks, which pretty much limits him to strong-side duties only.

That’s fine. But when combined with his heavy-hitting physicality, it’s not hard to draw the conclusion his tackling woes won’t simply go away. Some improper angles, paired with the lack of speed, could explain why he had issues with tackling a year ago. And while some better positioning would do some good, there’s only so much Harris will be able to do here based off his intangibles.

Projected Role with the 49ers in 2019

The Niners didn’t do too much to change out their safety position during the offseason, and Harris’ strong finish last year presents the conclusion he’ll make the 53-man roster.

But in what role?

One would guess Tartt has the upper hand. And if he gets it, fine. Harris winds up being a primary reserve and likely doubles on special teams.

Yet San Francisco, which is adjusting its safety deployment a bit this season, could be in a position where Tartt winds up playing free safety. Fellow defensive back Jimmie Ward is dealing with a broken collarbone, and third-year pro Adrian Colbert went through a major regression last year. Tartt has experience playing atop the defense, which opens up the door for Harris to secure the starting strong safety gig.

All that should end up being determined in training camp and will be contingent upon Ward’s recovery. That said, Harris should secure himself a pretty important role, regardless whether it’s as a starter or backup.

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