49ers draft Samuel Womack, possible K’Waun Williams replacement

The San Francisco 49ers get more defensive help in the secondary by drafting Samuel Womack in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

With the 172nd overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected cornerback Samuel Womack from Toledo University.

Womack stands at 5-foot-9 and 189 pounds, and he was first in pass breakups in the MAC for three straight seasons, finishing his college career with a school record of 39.

That was second in the FBS.

He has also recorded five interceptions, a forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and 126 tackles while also recording a sub-4.4 time at the NFL Scouting Combine.

What 49ers are hoping for with Samuel Womack

As he may seem undersized, Womack still has a knack for the ball and would be the perfect replacement for nickel cornerback K’Waun Williams, who left San Francisco for a new free-agent deal with the Denver Broncos during the offseason.

That’ll be a significant loss the 49ers needed to allocate resources for during the draft.

Like Williams, Womack doesn’t mind mixing it up with bigger pass-catchers but can still have problems dealing with taller wide receivers. However, the Toledo standout might help mitigate this by thriving in a zone defense to go along with good run-defending abilities.

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Plus, Womack has ball-hawking awareness and the ability to diagnose the play to make that pass breakup or interception. Putting him into a zone-style system should help capitalize on that skill set.

At the outset, it appears Womack will be competing with second-year corner Ambry Thomas and possibly another cornerback to win the nickel position during training camp, which is needed for a Niners defense that was lacking depth at that particular spot.