4 players 49ers could use as trade chips in 2021 NFL Draft
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: 49ers Safety Marcell Harris
If Tarvarius Moore isn’t on the trade block, the Niners should at least explore potentially trading another reserve safety entering a contract year, Marcell Harris.
While Moore’s coverage skills haven’t been great, they’ve at least been better than Harris’, according to Pro Football Focus, who dished out 2020 coverage grades of 56.1 and 36.6, respectively.
The latter is clearly more problematic.
San Francisco’s switch to more-traditional Cover 2 defensive schemes meant Harris had to play much deeper as opposed to his better fit closer to the line of scrimmage in a Cover 3 system, where the strong safety drops down within the box.
A better run defender by far, Harris might enjoy some more success with teams like the Seattle Seahawks or Las Vegas Raiders, which will use their strong safeties much closer to the line of scrimmage than the 49ers under defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.
Harris might not make the Niners’ 53-man roster out of training camp anyway even if they don’t add a safety in this year’s draft. The position is already crowded enough, particularly after adding Tavon Wilson, who is far superior in pass coverage.
But Harris is also much younger and still on a rookie deal, meaning he could provide an option to help move up on day three of the draft.