5 SF 49ers players who’ll be on notice for 2021 season

No. 1: SF 49ers Defensive Back Tarvarius Moore

Had it not been for a blazing-fast 40-yard time at his 2018 pro day, defensive back Tarvarius Moore likely would have been a day-three NFL Draft pick.

Fortunately for him, Moore’s exceptional speed put teams on notice, and the SF 49ers grabbed him in Round 3 of that year’s draft.

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Ever since, there have been flashes of brilliance interrupted by moments of ineptitude, particularly in coverage where Moore has often taken poor angles and reacted incorrectly to the more complex routes he’s seeing at the pro level compared to his college days at Southern Mississippi.

The Niners have had success with him as a big nickel, and he does have the flexibility to double as a boundary cornerback. That could be important, considering San Francisco is poised to lose defensive backs Richard Sherman, Jaquiski Tartt, K’Waun Williams, Jason Verrett and Ahkello Witherspoon, among others, to free agency this offseason.

If anything, though, Moore has danced on the fringes of being a decent starting option and a reserve-only player. A full three years into his NFL career, there’s little time left to prove himself a worthy long-term commodity to the SF 49ers.

Especially considering he’s entering the final season of his initial rookie deal.