SF 49ers roster: 4 positions Niners must address in 2021

No. 1: SF 49ers will be forced to overhaul their cornerback crop

No position will go through more attrition this offseason for San Francisco than its cornerback room.

Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett and K’Waun Williams aren’t the only pending free agents. The SF 49ers could lose Ahkello Witherspoon, Dontae Johnson and Jamar Taylor to free agency, and they’ll have a restricted free-agent decision pending with Emmanuel Moseley, too.

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Even if the Niners re-sign one or two of those names, they’ll have to spend considerable resources to upgrade the remaining part of the depth chart to ensure they make up for the mistake of 2020 where they didn’t use one of their few picks in the draft to grab a young cornerback.

While not as deep in prospects as the offensive line, the 2021 draft does have some likable options, particularly early with names like Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley, Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II and South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn, among others. There are also some low-budget free agents available on the market, too, and San Francisco should be able to mix and match with both veteran free-agent targets and up-and-coming draft prospects.

The SF 49ers will need to do this, especially considering many a young defensive back will struggle in the transition from the college ranks to the pros.

But with just over $13 million in cap space, currently, it’s not going to be an easy task.