Niner Noise
FanSided

Predicting 49ers starting lineup after 2020 NFL Draft

By Peter Panacy

MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 02: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 and the San Francisco 49ers run into the locker room for halftime against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 02: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 and the San Francisco 49ers run into the locker room for halftime against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Jimmie Ward, Jaquiski Tartt, 49ers
Strong safety Jaquiski Tartt #29 and free safety Jimmie Ward #20 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Safety

Free Safety: Jimmie Ward

Strong Safety: Jaquiski Tartt

Safety would have been a bigger worry if the 49ers hadn’t re-signed free safety Jimmie Ward at the start of free agency.

Ward enjoyed a career-best season in 2019, and the Niners are hoping he can replicate that at the back end of the defense. Likewise, strong safety Jaquiski Tartt was a big part of San Francisco boasting the league’s best pass defense.

Yet Tartt is hitting a contract year, and like Ward, he also has a bit of an injury history.

Third-year pro Marcell Harris has established himself as a quality backup, particularly against the run, and the 49ers also bolstered depth and competition by signing undrafted free-agent safeties Ronnel Perkins out of Missouri and Alabama’s Jared Mayden.