A lack of cornerback depth has plagued the 49ers for almost all of 2021, meaning NFL free agency should be a means to bolster this group this offseason.
The San Francisco 49ers made a terrible mistake entering 2021 by banking on the hope veteran cornerback Jason Verrett could stay healthy for the entire season.
Instead, Verrett suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 1, adding to his long list of debilitating injuries that otherwise thwarted what was a promising NFL career coming out of college at TCU years ago.
A free agent in 2022, Verrett will likely join fellow veteran corner Josh Norman as a player the Niners won’t bring back during the offseason. Additionally, San Francisco faces another challenge with pending free-agent nickel back K’Waun Williams, who despite being on the wrong side of 30 years old, has remained a key member of the team’s secondary.
There’s also the hope the 49ers get further contributions from their two rookie cornerbacks drafted in 2021, Ambry Thomas and Deommodore Lenoir. But the lack of depth here, so painfully revealed in so many games this season, suggests the Niners have to act aggressively on the NFL free agency market this upcoming offseason.
And these four pending free-agent corners have to be on San Francisco’s radar.
49ers Cornerback Target No. 4: Darious Williams, Rams
Re-signing Williams has to be one of the 49ers’ top priorities this upcoming offseason, but the Niners could also look at another Williams as a contingency plan.
Los Angeles Rams cornerback Darious Williams has a similar build — 5-foot-9 and 187 pounds — as his NFC West counterpart, and like the Niners’ own nickel corner, the Rams’ Williams also plays much bigger than his size would indicate.
Williams doesn’t receive the praise fellow Los Angeles corner Jalen Ramsey receives, but Williams has been more than effective the last three seasons, notching six interceptions and 22 pass breakups during that span over 38 games with the Rams, 21 of them starts.
With opposing quarterbacks posting a 63.9 passer rating against him a year ago, it makes sense why Los Angeles levied a first-round restricted free-agent tender on him last offseason.
It’s unclear whether or not the Rams will pony up what’ll likely be a nice payday for Williams in 2022, but San Francisco would surely benefit with this zone-style defensive back as a younger addition to bolster the secondary while purging an NFC West rival.
49ers Cornerback Target No. 3: Donte Jackson, Panthers
It doesn’t seem likely the Carolina Panthers have plans to retain 26-year-old cornerback Donte Jackson in 2022, especially after making in-season deals for veteran corners C.J. Henderson and Stephon Gilmore, the latter also a free agent who is looking to come back from injury.
Additionally, Carolina used a first-round NFL Draft pick on cornerback Jaycee Horn, making Jackson all the more expendable this offseason.
True, it would be a bit of a risk for the 49ers to target Jackson as a free agent, especially after he landed on season-ending injured reserve with a groin injury. And Jackson has missed games every year since his rookie campaign in 2018 after being drafted in Round 2 out of LSU.
Yet Jackson has been something of a turnover generator, though, notching 12 interceptions over his four-year career to go along with 38 pass breakups, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Primarily a zone-cover defensive back, Jackson allowed opposing quarterbacks a passer rating of 86.5 when targeting him this season before his groin injury.
If he was to stay healthy, the Niners should surely have interest.
49ers Cornerback Target No. 2: J.C. Jackson, Patriots
Good luck with figuring out what New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will do with his offseason roster decisions, meaning it’s anyone’s guess whether or not cornerback J.C. Jackson sticks around after playing his 2021 campaign on a second-round restricted free-agent tender.
It’s possible Belichick slaps the franchise tag on Jackson this offseason, either looking to keep him around or perhaps shop him on the open market via a trade.
And it wouldn’t be surprising to see Jackson command a lot of interest, either by the way of a trade on the tag or purely in NFL free agency for big bucks.
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The reason why is Jackson’s ability as a speedy coverage guy with prowess in both man- and zone-coverage schemes, and that prowess has allowed him to register 24 interceptions and 46 pass breakups over his four-year career, including a league-best 16 passes broken up entering Week 13.
With the 2022 NFL free agency market notably thin at the position, a player like Jackson could price himself out of San Francisco’s comfort range, but that doesn’t mean the 49ers should remove Jackson from their radar.
49ers Cornerback Target No. 1: Carlton Davis, Buccaneers
The Niners have somewhat shied away from their traditional long, lanky preference for boundary cornerbacks in recent years. But if they wanted to revert back to that kind of build, Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis should be a target.
The Bucs have problems with their secondary depth, too, so it wouldn’t be a shocker if they go all out to re-sign him or at least apply the franchise tag during the offseason.
But if Davis hits the open market, San Francisco should be aggressive and look to onboard the 24 year old with full intent on making the young defensive back part of their secondary for a long, long time.
Davis, too, has dealt with injuries this season and has appeared in only five games because of a quad injury. In 2020, though, Davis was outstanding with four interceptions and 18 pass breakups, forcing opposing quarterbacks to post an 87.6 passer rating when targeting him.
What makes Davis special is his ability to thrive in both man and zone coverages, giving a team like the 49ers plenty of flexibility with how they want to deploy their defensive backs.
Assuming he’d be available and the Niners can afford him, of course.