49ers roster: 4 biggest questions about the defense in 2021

No. 1: Will 49ers secondary be a weakness?

If one had to tab the biggest weakness on the Niners’ defensive side of the ball, it would be in the secondary.

Part of this is depth-related, as discussed before. San Francisco has what appears to be a fully capable starting cast at both safety and cornerback. But just by looking at the former, namely with safeties Jimmie Ward and Jaquiski Tartt, one can fairly ask serious questions about the health of those two throughout the course of 2021 and whether or not the depth will be adequate enough if either/both players experience injuries.

San Francisco 49ers

Maybe that’s where the rookie hype train for former USC safety Talanoa Hufanga kicks in, but he’s still nothing more than a first-year player.

Cornerback, however, seems to be the biggest concern, and both injury potential and capable starters highlight the question marks needing to be addressed.

Among the starters, both Jason Verrett and K’Waun Williams have dealt with injury setbacks. Despite playing 14 games last season, Verrett only saw six regular-season contests between 2016 and 2019, so his health remains a concern. So does that of Williams, who missed eight games last year.

The one healthy starting corner, Emmanuel Moseley, has bounced back and forth on the starting lineup, yet all signs point to him starting with Richard Sherman yet to be signed as of this writing.

And if OTAs showed us anything, 49ers rookie cornerbacks Ambry Thomas and Deommodore Lenoir still have a ways to go before they can be fully relied upon to start.

Maybe these questions don’t turn out to be that bad, yet they’re fair to ask as DeMeco Ryans and the Niners look to maintain what has been a quality defense the last two years.