49ers’ 2019 ‘Who Is?’ series: Safety Jaquiski Tartt
By Peter Panacy
The San Francisco 49ers have a bit of a training camp battle brewing at strong safety, but it still looks as if it’s a bout veteran defensive back Jaquiski Tartt will win in 2019. Niner Noise explores why.
San Francisco 49ers safety Jaquiski Tartt has had some hard luck, injury wise, the past two seasons. In 2017, he solidified himself as the Niners’ long-term strong safety, yet landed on injured reserve after just nine games.
Fully healthy entering 2018, Tartt retained his starting gig, only to land back on IR with a broken forearm after eight games this time around.
Tartt’s absence opened up the door for San Francisco’s 2018 rookie, Marcell Harris, to compete for first-team duties in 2019 training camp. And while Harris has a good deal of promise, Tartt still looks to be the favorite to win the nod.
| Game | Game | Def | Def | Def | Def | Def | Fumb | Tack | Tack | Tack | Tack | Tack | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | G | GS | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | Sk | Comb | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits |
| 2015 | 23 | SFO | SS | 15 | 8 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 2.0 | 64 | 51 | 13 | 3 | 2 |
| 2016 | 24 | SFO | fs | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1.0 | 49 | 36 | 13 | 4 | 3 | |
| 2017 | 25 | SFO | fs/s/ss | 9 | 8 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 37 | 3 | 0.5 | 54 | 37 | 17 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 26 | SFO | fs/ss | 8 | 8 | 1 | 23 | 0 | 23 | 2 | 42 | 32 | 10 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Care | Care | 47 | 30 | 3 | 85 | 0 | 37 | 11 | 1 | 3.5 | 209 | 156 | 53 | 14 | 7 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/7/2019.
Signed through 2020, Tartt experienced arguably the best season of his pro career in 2017. The 49ers’ second-round pick from the 2015 NFL Draft finally seemed to be coming into his own.
Injuries have thwarted his impact the last two years, yes. But there are good enough reasons to suggest Tartt will get even better this season and beyond.
Niner Noise looks at why.
Why Jaquiski Tartt Improves in 2019
Tartt certainly benefited from the 49ers’ move to a 4-3 Under scheme, which pressed strong safeties up towards the line of scrimmage.
As a result, Tartt earned a solid reputation for being a good run stopper, and he managed those 54 tackles in 2017 on a limited campaign. Adding 42 over eight games in 2018 only solidified Tartt’s prowess in this area.
San Francisco will be employing a more traditional defensive look in 2019, meaning Tartt will be further back from the line of scrimmage. Tartt’s coverage wasn’t quite as good in 2018 as it was the year before. But by providing a bit more added room, he won’t be required to run with players out of the gate, rather using his reaction skills and instincts to monitor the action in front of him.
This should play into Tartt’s benefit.
Why Jaquiski Tartt Regresses
The inability to stay healthy the past two seasons has created something of a concern entering 2019. Once is usually an anomaly, of course, and twice begins to raise some flags.
It’s possible the Niners’ tackling method increased the likelihood of Tartt’s upper-body injuries, so who knows if this is something to monitor heading into this season.
Either way, it’s hard to showcase improvement when you’re not on the field.
Tartt’s coverage did suffer some setbacks last season. And while San Francisco’s former defensive alignment could bear some blame, it’s also possible Tartt is simply an up-and-down cover guy. It’s hard to gauge whether or not he’ll ascend in this area again.
Projected Role with the 49ers in 2019
San Francisco is pegging Tartt to be its strong safety in 2019. And while Harris will provide some competition, Tartt’s experience and prior successes are good enough reasons to suggest he’ll come away first on the depth chart.
It’s also a bonus Tartt has gameday experience playing free safety, too, although one might guess the Niners want to keep him on the strong side.
That said, things could be different in 2020. Should Harris prove to be just as good an option, Tartt could wind up being a cap casualty a little less than a year from now. After all, the 49ers could save nearly $5 million in cap space in 2020 with just $1.5 million in dead money, if that’s the route taken.
The only way this affects the 2019 situation would be if the Niners want to see if Harris can eventually assume Tartt’s role.
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But it won’t be handed to Harris, meaning Tartt is still the inside favorite to secure the job out of training camp.