How the Nickelback Position is Playing Out for the 49ers

The 49ers are weighing their options when it comes to a starter at the nickelback position.

Initially, that starter was thought to be Isaiah Oliver when the 49ers signed him in free agency. Unfortunately, Oliver hasn't sealed the deal yet, and the 49ers aren't going to hand out starting roles if the player isn't convincing. On Monday, Wilks revealed at his press conference how the nickelback position is playing out.

“It is open just like every other position," said Wilks. "We’re very pleased with where [Isaiah] Oliver is. We brought him in for a reason. This league's all about matchups. I’ve never been a part of anything like this to have this kind of depth. I've been on teams where we're waiting to see exactly the last preseason game of who gets cut and everybody's looking at this particular team trying to pull from.

"So, to have the options that we have, not only at the nickel position, but across the board, linebacker as well as D-Line is a luxury. And again, with the matchups that we're going to face, Oliver's going to be in there. [Deommodore Lenoir] Demo may be in there based off who we're playing. We continue to just try to find a perfect mix. So, I think that's the key thing. And that's the reason why you saw Demo in there last week.”

Sounds like Wilks isn't going to have a definite starter. Rather, he is going to rotate players at the position based on who offers the best matchup. A sharp attention to detail is going to be key to get these rotations off for the 49ers. This is where calling plays from the booth can bode well for Wilks since he has a bird's eye view of the entire field. He won't be on the sidelines as his predecessor's Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans were.

Much of this rotation hinges on Ambry Thomas continuing to be consistent on the outside. If he can be trustworthy on the outside, then Wilks will have his options with Oliver and Lenoir inside. Although, it's something that he might already be set on from the way he is talking about the benefits of playing the matchups with them.

"I wouldn't put Demo on a tight end," said Wilks. "We may want to go nickel with 12 personnel. I'm not going to put Demo on the tight end. Oliver's going to be on that other tight end. There's going to be certain matchups in the slot right there based off who that guy may be. I'm not going to put Oliver in that situation. Demo may be that guy. So, there's teams that don't have this flexibility. I think it's a luxury.”

Flexibility is a fantastic trait to have with players. This is part of why I think Wilks will be a pretty good coordinator with the 49ers. He hasn't had a vast array of elite talent and overall depth like this before with any defense. It'll be incredibly intriguing to see if this rotation will pay off and if it is the best course of action to take at nickelback.