San Francisco 49ers: 5 players who could lose jobs after 2020 NFL Draft
By Peter Panacy
No. 4: 49ers safety Marcell Harris
Sticking with the theme of undrafted free agents, one of the more intriguing additions the Niners made after the draft was grabbing former Alabama defensive back Jared Mayden.
Overshadowed by his former Crimson Tide teammate, safety Xavier McKinney, Mayden didn’t quite receive the attention he deserved and easily could have been selected in Round 5 or 6 on day three of the draft.
Instead, Mayden fell out of the draft entirely and was one of San Francisco’s early UDFA grabs.
Mayden, 6-foot-0 and 205 pounds, projects more as a box safety, although he didn’t shy away from playing up high. With the Niners making their safety tandem more interchangeable, this skill is a necessity.
And it also spells danger for third-year safety Marcell Harris, too.
Harris showed his value as a good run-stopper and open-field tackler in 2018 and parts of 2019. But when asked to perform coverage duties, the results weren’t exactly promising as his 59.3 pass-coverage grade, per Pro Football Focus, suggests. Some of those touchdowns allowed in the Niners’ Week 14 back-and-forth win over the New Orleans Saints also provide evidence.
Mayden will have to outperform Harris in training camp, yes. But one would guess the 49ers are pretty high on the undrafted rookie, which could create some depth shakeups at safety entering 2020.