3 reasons why 49ers’ Ahkello Witherspoon improves in 2019
To call 2018 a sophomore slump for San Francisco 49ers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon would be an understatement. However, there are reasons to expect improvement from the third-year pro. Niner Noise breaks down the three most important.
After a promising start to his NFL career as a rookie in 2017, San Francisco 49ers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, a former third-round pick out of Colorado, hit the proverbial wall in 2018. In fact, his Pro Football Focus ranking of 112 among cornerbacks was one of the worst in the league.
Granted, this was a team-wide problem, as PFF ranked the 49ers last in the NFL for secondary grades.
Witherspoon’s counting stats don’t make the season look any better, as he finished the year with zero interceptions and just four passes defended.
Still there’s reason for optimism for the cornerback, who will be just 24 years old when the 2019 season starts, and was actually a slow grower during his time at Colorado, seeing his game time and snap counts steadily improve while in college.
All that to say, it’s still too early to throw in the towel on Witherspoon as a potential contributor in 2019 and beyond.
No. 3: An improved pass rush
Much has been made of all the resources the 49ers have invested in the defensive line, not only over the past few seasons, but just over this offseason, adding both EDGE Dee Ford, via trade, and EDGE Nick Bosa via the second overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The team is now chock full of first-round picks all along the defensive line, with Ford and Bosa joining Solomon Thomas, DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead.
So to say that much is expected of this group would be underselling the point. And based on all the movement at defensive line, and the team mostly staying pat in the defensive backfield, the 49ers expect a better rush will equal better coverage.
The logic makes pretty good sense, although a recent study by PFF’s Eric Eager and George Chahrouri on the subject suggests the 49ers may have it backwards, but better–and more–pass-rushers was the preferred method of the recent Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Given the 49ers’ mediocre PFF pass-rush ranking in 2018, a jump into the top portion of the league could prove helpful for the secondary and the defense overall.