5 critical problems 49ers could face in 2020

No. 4: 49ers cornerback depth is tested, and it isn’t there

On the surface, the cornerback position for the 49ers looks to be in good, not great, shape.

They’ve got an aging but still effective Richard Sherman holding down one side, even if he isn’t locking it down as well as he used to during his heyday in Seattle with the Seahawks. Opposite him, it appears to be former UDFA Emmanuel Moseley’s job to lose, as he supplanted former third-round draft pick, Ahkello Witherspoon, during the playoffs and took over through the Super Bowl, playing well at times.

And of course, you can’t forget starting slot corner K’Waun Williams, who is arguably the best corner of his type in the NFL.

Beyond that, the team has players like oft-injured Jason Verrett, who’s one appearance in 2019 was not exactly a selling point for more playing time in 2020, Dontae Johnson, who had a decent run as a 49er from 2014 through 2017 but has only featured in 10 games for three teams since, and young guys like Tim Harris and DeMarkus Acy, who still have a lot to prove.

In other words, the quality at the top is sound. After that, who knows what to expect.

Verrett, for example, was a Pro Bowler in 2015 and one of the draft’s top prospects two years earlier but hasn’t been able to stay healthy since. And maybe Harris or Acy turn into Moseley, a diamond in the rough who becomes a Super Bowl starter.

But the worst-case scenario here is that Sherman can’t stay healthy or struggles, Moseley doesn’t live up to last season and Witherspoon continues to basically feel like the cornerback version of the shrug emoji, leaving the 49ers to depend on the unknowns behind them.

And then those depth guys show why they are only depth guys and not starters.