49ers training camp: 5 players who are balling out so far

49ers training camp standout: Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley

With Charvarius Ward now in the fray, there was a bit of an open-ended question as to which player the Niners would field at the No. 2 boundary cornerback spot. Since veteran corner Jason Verrett started on the physically unable-to-perform list and isn’t practicing yet after tearing his ACL last year, the thinking was this role could go to a defensive back like Ambry Thomas, Dontae Johnson or Emmanuel Moseley.

Well, Moseley has been the best of the trio by far.

Perhaps not as high-impact a player as Ward, Moseley has nevertheless looked like a complete shutdown corner over every day of practice thus far, and Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn described just how well the former undrafted free agent has been playing despite not having the benefit of jamming wide receivers at the line of scrimmage just yet:

"[Moseley] has given up zero catches through three days of camp. Today, he got targeted just once and the pass was incomplete. He’s playing like a shutdown cornerback."

Even if Verrett is ready to go soon, the No. 2 corner job is Moseley’s to lose right now, meaning Verrett would likely slide into a primary reserve role who’s more than capable of starting and doing so well, if healthy.

And that’s a massive boost to a cornerback room that was a primary problem for San Francisco a year ago.