49ers 2020 NFL Draft needs: Ashtyn Davis to fill a void at safety?

The San Francisco 49ers could be looking to add a safety in the 2020 NFL Draft, especially if Jimmie Ward leaves. Could Cal’s Ashtyn Davis be the long-term fit?

Veteran defensive back Jimmie Ward will be under the San Francisco 49ers‘ control for three more years, after signing a new three-year deal with the team late Monday.

Ward already expressed what he thinks the Niners should have done if he ended up walking in free agency: promote third-year pro Tarvarius Moore to the starting free safety job in 2020.

Yet San Francisco already tried giving Moore the starting role early in 2019, eventually handing it back to Ward, who held the spot all the way through the year through the Super Bowl. Assuming Moore will rise no further than a backup and special teams contributor, there’s a good chance the 49ers look to the 2020 NFL Draft as a means to find Ward’s long-term replacement.

Especially considering many a young defensive back can struggle initially transitioning from the college ranks to the pros.

And there’s a good chance Cal defensive back Ashytn Davis winds up being on the team’s radar.

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The 6-foot-1, 202-pound defensive back from Santa Cruz, California grew up a 49ers fan and has the ideal body type for the back end of San Francisco’s Cover 3 defense.

Yet there are some concerns about his ability to play in this kind of single-high defense, as pointed out by The Draft Network’s Kyle Crabbs:

"Would like to see a touch more anticipation in zone to flow and scrape when he’s not held by a second route. His range works well as a Robber in the intermediate areas of the field and like his influence over top of TEs in the red zone. Not a single high option with high upside."

This might not be as pressing as one would think, however. In 2019, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh shied away from heavy use of Cover 3, single-high defensive schemes, frequently employing more traditional Cover 2 schemes with two safeties deep. As a result, both the free and strong safeties became much more interchangeable.

And while the instinctive abilities Davis possesses might not seem a perfect fit right now, his game speed and ranginess are enough to suggest he can adapt to being in a single-high format in time if he hones his reactive skills.

In addition to his speed, Davis has a tremendous on-field prowess, regularly around the ball and displaying a high-energy motor inherently necessary to this kind of position at the pro level. While there is a notable concern of him being a “boom or bust” candidate, it’s not out of the question to assume he could be a big-play playmaker at the pro level for years to come.

Especially considering his six interceptions over his final two years with the Bears.

If the 49ers are interested, the next question becomes just how they go about landing him in the draft. The Niners own the Nos. 13 and 31 overall picks in the draft, currently, but they’re not scheduled to pick again until Round 5 after dishing off their picks in Rounds 2, 3 and 4 in trades for EDGE Dee Ford and Emmanuel Sanders last year.

As a first-round pick, Davis might be a slight reach. If San Francisco is able to trade down, grabbing some additional NFL Draft capital in return, grabbing Davis in Round 2 generates a lot more value, as Niner Noise’s Jeremy Wohlfart pointed out earlier.

The 49ers also have pressing needs at wide receiver and cornerback this offseason. And while it’s possible the Niners go that route with their first draft pick this April, both those positions are notably deep in the draft.

Safety, however, is not.

Because of this, it wouldn’t be shocking if San Francisco looks to a player like Davis, probably in Round 2, going with the trade-down scenario and trying to find that long-term replacement for Ward in this season and beyond.