Cornerback now at top of 49ers’ wish list
SANTA CLARA >> The 49ers have their quarterback of the future. Jimmy Garoppolo has made that clear over the past three weeks.
But Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans made it equally clear the 49ers’ next great need: a No. 1 cornerback.
This 49ers’ roster is absolutely a work in progress, but it’s not the worst roster in the NFL anymore (congrats Indianapolis!) — coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have some strong talent to work with in the years to come.
• Marquise Goodwin and Trent Taylor should be catching a ton of passes from Garoppolo in 2018 and beyond.
• Trent Brown and Joe Staley should be the bookends of the offensive line, protecting Garoppolo, going forward.
• DeForest Buckner has proven himself to be an impact player and possible All-Pro on the defensive line.
• Solomon Thomas and Arik Armstead should be reaping the benefits of the chaos Buckner creates up the middle.
• K’Waun Williams should be playing in the slot for the 49ers defense for the next half-decade.
• Safeties Jaquiski Tartt, Eric Reid (should he be re-signed) and Adrian Colbert have played well and shown their versatility this year.
• Rueben Foster, the rookie middle linebacker, is a bonafide gamechanger.
But cornerback Dontae Johnson, bless him, had another woeful game Sunday, A week after he was torched by DeAndre Hopkins, Johnson was left spinning by the Titans, who don’t have elite receivers. Rishard Matthews, Corey Davis and Eric Decker took anything they wanted against the 49ers’ fourthyear corner, who has gone 54 games without an interception.
It’s fair to say that Johnson would have a hard time making another NFL active roster — even at this late stage in the season — but he was on the field for all 64 snaps Sunday.
Opposite Johnson, rookie Ahkello Witherspoon — an impressive physical fit for the 49ers’ Cover-3 system — was fine, but Johnson’s poor play required the Colorado product to be near-perfect to cover up for his teammate.
Without a serious upgrade at cornerback, the entire 49ers defense is susceptible — it’s not really a Cover-3 scheme when you always have to bracket the opposing team’s top wide receiver because an outside corner can’t even run with him.
The 49ers’ issue: they need a player who fits a specific role in their defense. Not any cornerback will do.
Cornerbacks in singlehigh safety systems, need to be big and physical with receivers — Richard Sherman (in his prime) is a good example of the kind of cornerback the 49ers should be seeking. Easy enough, right? Witherspoon has potential to be that kind of corner, but he’s nowhere near lock-down. And after four seasons, it’s fair to say that Johnson, who is the thirdworst rated cornerback in the NFL per Pro Football Focus, is not the guy for the job.
So where do the 49ers go to find this all-important piece? They could acquire an established No. 1 cornerback via trade (Sherman might be available) or free agency. If they do opt to add a corner (or two, or three) via free agency, their top target should be the Los Angeles Rams’ Trumaine Johnson, a Cover-3 prototype who has been one of the best cornerbacks in the league for a few years.
That said, Johnson is going to cost serious money this offseason — he has been franchise tagged by the Rams for the last two years. While the 49ers have cash to spend, they might not be keen to put big bucks into the cornerback position — it is a boom-or-bust spot after all.
If the 49ers don’t want to use that precious cap space, they could draft a cornerback. But this draft has only one top-10-worthy cornerback — Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick — who while big and physical might be a better option to play as a freelancing safety.
Perhaps the 49ers front office just brings in a ton of bargain free agents and third-day draft picks to training camp to see if any of them can stick — that wouldn’t be the worst idea either.
The method, frankly, doesn’t matter. Whatever works. But however the 49ers front office does it, they need to have a viable No. 1 cornerback on the field opposite Witherspoon and Williams next season.
On a team with plenty of needs, that role is the most glaring.
And until the 49ers find a fit for that role and fill that hole on the right side of their defense, we can pump the brakes on all of that 2018 hype.