49ers draft: NFL.com 4-round mock suggests Niners aren’t done in secondary

NFL.com draft analyst Chad Reuter thinks the 49ers aren’t finished with their work in the secondary, stating such in his latest four-round mock.

The San Francisco 49ers already made their big-ticket move to upgrade their secondary in 2022, inking former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward to a three-year deal to immediately become the No. 1 option at his position.

It’s a good move. The Niners needed help there, and Ward will improve what was otherwise a less-than-desirable cornerback room from a year ago.

However, San Francisco still has some notable question marks within the secondary, especially with nickel cornerback K’Waun Williams leaving for the Denver Broncos and strong safety Jaquiski Tartt unsigned and not looking as if he’ll return.

It’s anyone’s guess how this will impact general manager John Lynch’s decision-making process leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft this April. And while the 49ers don’t have a ton of holes on their roster, there are a few glaring positions of need.

But will Lynch continue to address the secondary? That’s what one draft analyst thinks will happen.

NFL.com draft analyst Chad Reuter suggests 49ers beef up on secondary even more

The Niners, of course, are without their first-round pick in this year’s draft after using that as part of the package to land quarterback Trey Lance a year ago.

So, not surprisingly, San Francisco was inactive in NFL.com’s Chad Reuter’s recent four-round mock draft, leaving the 49ers’ first selection at No. 61, all the way towards the end of Round 2.

Reuter’s first mock selection of the Niners is San Diego State EDGE Cameron Thomas, which is interesting enough, as that was Niner Noise’s most recent mock selection, too. And it does make some sense, as San Francisco needs to bolster the outside pass rush in support of Pro Bowl EDGE Nick Bosa this upcoming season.

The 49ers then have three picks, one of them compensatory, split between Rounds 3 and 4, and Reuter focused the rest of his Niners selections on defensive backs:

• Round 3, No. 93 Overall: CB Josh Thompson, Texas
• Round 3, No. 105 Overall (Compensatory): CB Marcus Jones, Houston
• Round 4, No. 134 Overall: S Markquese Bell, Florida A&M

Thompson hasn’t shown up on a lot of San Francisco draft-talk circles just yet, but he’d be a boundary option and ran a 4.40 40-yard dash during the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this spring.

While Ward is projected to be CB1, there’s still room to improve his opposite pairing, and the need to compete with fellow corners like Ambry Thomas and Emmanuel Moseley is certainly there.

Jones, however, could be a perfect candidate to fill in for Williams at nickel, while Bell could be in play to potentially replace Tartt, should the 49ers not have confidence in any of their other on-roster options like Talanoa Hufanga and Tarvarius Moore.