49ers free agency: Too-early look at 5 targets to go after in 2022

49ers NFL free agency target No. 1: Cornerback Kyle Fuller

Let’s not kid ourselves here. The 49ers’ No. 1 offseason priority should be addressing their cornerback room, doing so multiple times both via free agency and the NFL Draft.

Veteran corners Josh Norman and Jason Verrett are all but assured to be gone in 2022, and nickel cornerback K’Waun Williams is a free agent, too, albeit the only one of this cast who’d be considered a re-sign priority. Rookie corners Ambry Thomas and Deommodore Lenoir have a ways to go before they can fully assume starting duties, too, meaning the Niners have to make a serious attempt to restock this position.

Grabbing another veteran would help, and one such name to watch is Denver Broncos cornerback Kyle Fuller.

At 30 years old, Fuller isn’t likely to be in Denver’s long-term plans anymore, at least not after the Broncos used a first-round draft pick to grab top-rookie corner Patrick Surtain II in 2021.

Sure, Fuller might not be of the same caliber he once was during his heyday years with the Chicago Bears. Yet San Francisco seems to have a knack for trusting veteran cornerbacks over 30 years old with prominent roles, Norman the latest example and, previously, now-Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Richard Sherman.

Perhaps Fuller will be next on the list.