San Francisco 49ers: Power ranking top 10 players entering 2020
. . CB Richard Sherman. 7. player. 42.
49ers Cornerback Richard Sherman
It has been said 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman is still among the elite players at his position in the NFL. And a lot of his numbers from last season suggest he is still quite a good player, even if he has lost a step.
PFF graded him as elite in both overall grading (90.3) and in coverage (90.5) and credited Sherman with allowing just 34 receptions for 373 yards (123 of which came after the catch) and a completion percentage of 55.7 when targeted.
Part of that might come down to the respect he garners from opposing quarterbacks. Part of it also might be the relative uncertainty regarding the quality of the players on the other side of the defensive formation. Opposing offenses might decide to test either Ahkello Witherspoon or Emmanuel Moseley rather than chancing it that Sherman is still capable of being a shutdown corner.
That respect factor helps a lot, but there is still evidence Sherman is a top-quality player heading into 2020, even if he’s not the best of the best as he was during his tenure in Seattle.
He’s definitely a bit slower, as evidenced by getting beat deep a time or two during last season, most notably by speedsters for the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, but Sherman’s game has never really been predicated on speed.
Instead, he remains among the league’s best because he’s smarter than most NFL players in terms of anticipating what an offense is going to do.
That’s good enough to keep him in the 49ers’ top 10 for the upcoming season.