49ers depth chart: 4 players who must shoulder bigger loads in wake of injuries

No. 1: 49ers Safety Jimmie Ward

It’s always easy to look at players buried deeper at the same position on a depth chart when the top option goes down with an injury. But that doesn’t always automatically mean those same positional players are the only ones who have to shoulder a bigger load.

Veteran free safety Jimmie Ward is also going to take a big responsibility for what happens in the Niners secondary after it lost Jason Verrett, and there may be a couple of ways he’s tasked with doing so.

A clear one, obviously, is to be more on point as the last line of San Francisco’s defense, potentially now more susceptible to big plays with the combination of Deommodore Lenoir, Josh Norman and/or Dre Kirkpatrick offering lower-caliber play compared to Verrett.

The other possibility, however, is Ward could be asked to play more boundary cornerback, which is something he’s done frequently over his career. Doing so would mean the 49ers have to insert either Tavon Wilson or the rookie, Talanoa Hufanga, into a more prominent role alongside fellow safety Jaquiski Tartt, but at least the flexibility from both Niners starting safeties allows for it.

Should defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans elect to pursue this option, of course.

Regardless, Ward’s responsibility as a defensive captain just increased regardless of how he’s aligned.