Much of what the 49ers did in the 2022 NFL Draft was intended to beef up the depth chart, resulting in some awfully strong and deep positional groups.
If you comb through the San Francisco 49ers’ 2022 NFL Draft class, few if any selected players stand out as true day-one starters.
It’s understandable. Without a first-round pick this year, and the tendency for Round 1 prospects to have the best chance at starting right away, the Niners’ primary focus wasn’t to grab immediate-impact players for every-down roles. No, instead it was about bolstering the depth right now while increasing the chances of finding long-term starters who can contribute that way in a year or two’s time.
Not a bad approach. Especially for a San Francisco roster that’s already built for the postseason.
What happens as a result, though, is the 49ers wind up with some exceptionally strong position groups, and each one of the team’s actions influenced this. One particular unit went from being a highly criticized weakness and turned into a notable strength, at least when looking at the sheer number of roster-caliber options the team onboarded or brought back this offseason.
As for a different position group? Well, it was already strong to begin with and only got stronger once the Niners finished up their actions in the draft.
So, with offseason workouts like OTAs, minicamps and training camp just around the corner, let’s take a look at and break down San Francisco’s three strongest positions as we inch closer to the 2022 regular season.
49ers strong position No. 3: Cornerback
Key additions in 2022: Charvarius Ward, Samuel Womack*, Tariq Castro-Fields*
* denotes rookie
Imagine this, San Francisco’s biggest defensive weakness last season has now turned into a bona fide strength.
Granted, this group still has question marks. But many of those were alleviated by the lucrative free-agent pickup of former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward. And while the 49ers should still worry about whether or not oft-injured and re-signed corner Jason Verrett can stay healthy and play a full season, the good news is the Niners still have starting-caliber options to support him.
Namely in Emmanuel Moseley and, to a lesser extent, last year’s late-season riser in Ambry Thomas.
San Francisco did have to account for the free-agent loss of nickel cornerback K’Waun Williams, though, and the hope is its fifth-round NFL Draft selection, Samuel Womack, winds up being a tailor-made replacement in more ways than one.
Moseley might start in relief of Williams for now, but Womack looks to be the long-term replacement, while depth options such as Thomas, Dontae Johnson, Deommodore Lenoir, Darqueze Dennard and the sixth-round rookie, Tariq Castro-Fields, will battle it out in training camp for one of arguably two remaining spots on the depth chart.
49ers strong position No. 2: Wide receiver
Key additions in 2022: Marcus Johnson, Ray-Ray McCloud, Malik Turner, Danny Gray*
All signs are beginning to point towards disgruntled All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel not going anywhere anytime soon, and that’s awfully good a thing.
Assuming nothing changes there, the 49ers have arguably the most well-rounded wide receiver corps during head coach Kyle Shanahan’s tenure.
Samuel is the Niners’ biggest offensive playmaker, one who netted 1,770 all-purpose yards last season, which ranked third best in that category. No questioning that. Behind him, San Francisco will finally look to get that breakout-kind of season from third-year wideout Brandon Aiyuk, who seems poised to thrive with quarterback Trey Lance under center.
For much of last season, Aiyuk was tasked with performing deep-threat routes, yet he didn’t see a good share of targets early in the year. With the stronger-armed Lance now in charge of passing, one might assume Aiyuk’s role changes, too.
However, the 49ers’ new speed threat who can take the top, former SMU speedster Danny Gray, should be able to occupy the “thankless” duties of drawing an extra defender down the field. That’s what a 4.33 40-yard time can do.
While depth receivers like Marcus Johnson, Malik Turner and return specialist Ray-Ray McCloud may not see a lot of offensive action, and at least one of them likely won’t make the 53-man roster, the Niners can finally look at this position group and be thankful for the exceptional depth.
49ers strong position No. 1: Defensive line
Key additions in 2022: Kerry Hyder, Kemoko Turay, Hassan Ridgeway, Drake Jackson*, Kalia Davis*
Yes, San Francisco lost a key part of its stout defensive line over the years, nose tackle D.J. Jones, who departed in free agency for a lucrative deal with the Denver Broncos. And it’s also looking like EDGE Dee Ford will either retire or be a post-June 1 cap casualty in light of his chronic back injury.
However, there’s little doubting the 49ers’ strongest position overall entering 2022 is this unit.
Pro Bowl EDGE Nick Bosa will look to replicate his impressive 2021 season in which he recorded 15.5 sacks, but the Niners’ biggest immediate boost could be the healthy return of third-year pro defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, who’ll play a major role in making up for Jones’ absence in the rotation.
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Adding edge rusher Kemoko Turay while reuniting with its 2020 sack leader, defensive end Kerry Hyder, only adds more depth to San Francisco’s already deep D-line, too.
Of course, a heavy amount of attention this spring and summer will be on the 49ers’ top pick from the 2022 NFL Draft, USC EDGE Drake Jackson, who might need some refinement but has all the physical tools to be a dominant force right out of the gate.
The strong get stronger, at least in terms of D-line prowess.
The Niners have kept this group a prominent strength ever since Kyle Shanahan took over in 2017, and there’s no reason to assume it’ll be anything different this season.