SF 49ers: Post-free agency 53-man roster projection

SF 49ers Cornerbacks (6)

Jason Verrett

Emmanuel Moseley

Rookie outside CB

FA slot CB

Rookie slot CB/ST

Dontae Johnson OR Tim Harris

Throughout the end of last season and into this offseason, a lot of the conversation swirled around the dearth of players the SF 49ers had in the defensive backfield.

Some of those issues were solved with the re-signing of Jason Verrett and the contract extension given to Emmanuel Moseley, more or less locking those two in — for now — as the starting corners for the team heading into the draft.

But that doesn’t mean San Francisco won’t take advantage of a solid group of players available in the draft as it thinks both for 2021 and for the next several years.

Cornerback is still a possible selection at No. 12 overall, with guys like Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley, and South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn potentially still there when the Niners pick in the first round.

But that wouldn’t mean the 49ers should take one guy and leave the position be, as the draft class seems to stack up in such a way that grabbing at least two, if not three, corners might make a lot of sense.

Ideally, however, the rest of the group stacks up a little differently than it is here, with the team finding a veteran nickel cornerback — be it re-signing K’Waun Williams or someone else — to mentor and teach a rookie.

Then it might come down to at least two guys for one slot, in this case, veteran Dontae Johnson or unproven second-year man Tim Harris, whom the 49ers took in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

It could be that both are out of the picture depending on what happens in the draft, but expect at least two rookie cornerbacks to be expected to contribute in some fashion in 2021.