SF 49ers free agency: 5 cornerbacks Niners should target in 2021
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: Ronald Darby, Washington Football Team
The SF 49ers prefer long, lanky boundary cornerbacks. But they don’t always have to go that route.
Case in point, the Niners’ current boundary tandem of Jason Verrett and Emmanuel Moseley are both shorter than 6-foot-0 and aren’t exactly showing signs of being too small for their respective positions.
Verrett’s injury history, despite his standout 2020 campaign, might guard against the Niners wanting to retain him. He might have played his way out of a cheap re-sign deal anyway, meaning San Francisco could feel comfortable going after another short-statured defensive back.
Such as Washington’s Ronald Darby.
At 5-foot-11 and 193 pounds, Darby has the flexibility to play both on the outside and over the slot. He’s done both with Washington and to desirable results despite the Football Team’s relative lack of success this season. He’s already registered 41 tackles and seven passes defended over 10 starts, and he’s just a year removed from a two-interception campaign back in 2019.
Aside from a relatively forgettable 2019 season with the Philadelphia Eagles, in which Pro Football Focus gave him a lowly 44.8 overall grade, Darby has regularly stayed north of 68.0 in PFF’s grading system.
Not bad, considering his one-year, $3 million deal signed with Washington for 2020.