49ers NFL Draft: 5 early needs for San Francisco in 2021
By Peter Panacy
No. 1: Wholesale Changes Coming for 49ers at Cornerback?
San Francisco has its starting trio of cornerbacks in place for 2019: Richard Sherman, Emmanuel Moseley and K’Waun Williams, while fourth-year pro Ahkello Witherspoon looks to be the primary backup on the boundary.
All four will be free agents in 2021, too, although Moseley will be of the restricted variety.
San Francisco 49ers
Nickel corners typically make much less than boundary types, which means Williams could be much easier to re-sign — a possible need considering his value to the 49ers secondary the past two years. And perhaps Sherman engineers his own incentive-laden contract again, maintaining the same kind of prowess he enjoyed in yet another Pro Bowl campaign a year ago.
Or perhaps not.
Sherman could just as easily price himself out of the Niners’ financial target range, while Williams could seek a massive payday on the open market, leaving Moseley and a number of other less-than-desirable options competing for jobs in 2021.
Cover corners are of extreme value in today’s pass-happy NFL, and even an elite pass rush won’t always translate into an effective defensive backfield.
Particularly if that backfield winds up going through wholesale changes during the offseason.
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As such, it wouldn’t be shocking at all if John Lynch uses the team’s first pick, or even the first two, on defensive backs when the 2021 NFL Draft kicks off.