5 players 49ers should have pursued more aggressively in free agency

No. 2 free agent 49ers should have pursued harder: CB D.J. Reed

San Francisco does have a lot of flexibility with what it can do at cornerback in the wake of the Charvarius Ward signing.

Ward is likely to play a boundary spot, which will push fellow corners Emmanuel Moseley and Ambry Thomas down the depth chart, yet those two are still in line for plenty of snaps this upcoming season, too, potentially Moseley as the prime replacement for nickel cornerback K’Waun Williams, who also hit the NFL free agency market this offseason.

However, the 49ers are still just an injury away from letting the secondary become as big a problem as it was a year ago, and it would have made perfect sense for them to target an old friend, former Seattle Seahawks cornerback D.J. Reed, who enjoyed two exceptionally productive years after the Hawks claimed him off injury waivers from the Niners early in 2020.

Reed played all over Seattle’s secondary, too, which would have made him an ideal choice to support nearly every position within the defensive backfield, and he certainly could have helped keep a starting boundary tandem of Ward and Moseley in place.

The only problem, though, is San Francisco elected to watch Reed join Laken Tomlinson with the Jets.