Final year-end grades for 49ers 2021 NFL Draft class

Round 3, Pick No. 102 Overall: 49ers cornerback Ambry Thomas

If rookie cornerback Ambry Thomas didn’t turn things on late during the regular season, finishing the year with five regular-season starts and starting two of the Niners’ three postseason games, this particular selection at No. 102 overall would have also been a notable flop.

Perhaps one that would have been expected, though, as Thomas opted out of his 2020 campaign at Michigan because of the pandemic, putting him into a category like Trey Lance where it was going to take time to shake some of the proverbial “rust.”

Thomas’ early start wasn’t good. Rarely given the chance of seeing the field after shaky performances in the preseason and in Week 1, San Francisco was left to scramble for other options at his position when injuries began to pile up.

Even then, Thomas was forced into the fray in Week 14 against the Cincinnati Bengals and was targeted with great success by Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.

However, Thomas slowly and steadily improved with each passing week thereafter. And while his 118.0 passer rating allowed on the year and 47.1 Pro Football Focus pass-coverage grade aren’t good, the trajectory over the back half of his rookie campaign is what matters here.