5 players who impressed the most during 49ers’ 2019 OTAs

Third-year cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon would probably like to forget 2018 ever happened.

After impressing and securing a starting job his rookie season, Witherspoon’s regression last year translated into him being ranked by Pro Football Focus as the worst cornerback out of 112 qualifiers a season ago. He led the team in accepted penalties against and was regularly prone to giving up big plays on a seemingly weekly basis. And while Witherspoon did flash improvement late in the year, it didn’t change the notion he was suffering from the proverbial sophomore slump.

That didn’t look to be the case during OTAs, however.

According to another report from Matt Barrows, Witherspoon looked far more confident in coverage during his practice sessions, and the former Colorado standout seems to have put himself in position to retain his starting cornerback job heading towards training camp.

Given tackling isn’t allowed at OTAs, defensive backs are often observed by how well they’re sticking to their receivers. Apparently, Witherspoon didn’t struggle in this area much at all, which is an excellent sign moving forward.

Perhaps Witherspoon bounces back in 2019 after all.