49ers made mistake by not drafting a cornerback in 2020

The 49ers could potentially pay for their mistake in the 2020 NFL Draft of not selecting a cornerback, which could haunt them in 2021.

The San Francisco 49ers took home only five players from the 2020 NFL Draft, headlined by the first-round selections of defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.

Both of those adds were fine, and both players figure to be cornerstone pieces to head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad for a long time.

What the Niners should have done, though, is add to their secondary with a rookie cornerback or two. If not in Round 1, then at least when they had three additional selections between Rounds 5 through 7.

Oftentimes, teams pay for their roster mistakes in the months, sometimes years down the road. San Francisco fans are seeing it firsthand with the 2017 decision to pass on now-Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes or Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson in favor of underperforming defensive end Solomon Thomas at No. 3 overall.

True, the draft is a crapshoot. No one is questioning that, and few could have anticipated the meteoric rise of Mahomes and Watson while predicting Thomas wouldn’t pan out.

In 2020, the 49ers rounded out their draft class with offensive lineman Colton McKivitz, tight end Charlie Woerner and wide receiver Jauan Jennings while also sending away a fifth-round pick to acquire former Washington left tackle Trent Williams.

What they should have done instead is use one of those three remaining picks on a cornerback in what was viewed as one of the deeper draft classes at the position in recent memory. Especially considering McKivitz, Woerner and Jennings made scant impressions on the team during their respective rookie years.

Unfortunately, the decision to pass on corners is coming back to haunt Shanahan and general manager John Lynch right now.

49ers won’t have many options in the 2021 NFL Draft

Cornerbacks Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett, K’Waun Williams, Ahkello Witherspoon and Dontae Johnson are among those pegged as unrestricted free agents this offseason. Emmanuel Moseley, a restricted free agent, is the only one on the Niners roster with any sort of legitimate starter’s experience.

Unless San Francisco goes after some veteran corners in free agency, likely some low-cost options, Lynch and Shanahan won’t have as many options later in this year’s draft as they would have a year ago.

Pro Football Talk’s Peter King described this recently:

"What’s weird about this draft: It’s conceivable that the first eight players could be offensive players, and one of the unheralded corners—opt-out Virginia Tech athlete Caleb Farley or Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II—could be the first defender taken. “If you want a corner,” [Daniel] Jeremiah said, “you better get one in the first couple of rounds. It falls off after that.” Another son of an ex-NFLer, South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn (son of former wideout Joe Horn), should go by the end of round one."

It’s not a deep draft at cornerback. And there are far more questions about day-two and day-three corners this year than there were in 2020.

Perhaps this describes why many a 49ers mock draft has someone like Surtain taken at No. 12 overall. In that case, it could easily be a combination of “best player available” and “biggest team need” meshing into one strategy.

Another thing to consider is young defensive backs often struggle transitioning from the collegiate ranks to the pros. Coverage schemes are more complex, opposing receivers are also bigger, stronger, faster and have savvier route-running abilities. More often than not, a young defensive back’s career will parallel the early struggles veteran Niners safety Jimmie Ward went through and not so much the rocket-like ascent of New Orleans Saints perennial Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

Bluntly stated, it often takes time for a rookie corner to develop. Had San Francisco invested in this position a year ago, the situation it’s encountering in 2021 might not be as big a problem.

The only hope now is, of course, the lack of attention given to cornerback last year won’t be too big a hindrance a year later.