Kyle Shanahan is Comfortable With What the 49ers Have at Safety
Safety was a need entering the NFL draft for the 49ers.
With Jaquiski Tartt still a free agent, the 49ers have a vacancy next to Jimmie Ward. And who they currently have on the roster now doesn't really instill a whole lot of confidence. However, Kyle Shanahan thinks otherwise. The 49ers did not draft a safety and that is because Shanahan is comfortable with what they have
“When you look at the safety you would love to have a safety, but we’ve also got [DB] Jimmie Ward who I think he's pretty good." said Shanahan at his post-draft presser.
"We spent a draft pick on [Talanoa] Hufanga last year who we think had a really good rookie year. We brought in a really good safety in free agency in [George] Odum, a special teams captain for his team, started a number of games for them at Indy this year and then we’ve got Tarvarius [Moore] coming back who in 2020, he played half a year as a starter and we thought he finished his last five games as a true starting safety and before that he was always one of our best special teams players. So you’ve got four NFL players there. You always want to upgrade and take the best, but you do have four NFL players there.”
Quite the vote of confidence from Shanahan here.
Safety looks about set now for the 49ers. It is a bit of a shock because anyone that the 49ers throw out there next to Ward is going to be a liability. So perhaps the 49ers are okay with taking those lumps and letting someone like Hufanga get some development in. In a way, it shouldn't come as a shock.
The 49ers have demonstrated this offseason that they are going with the younger players in the secondary. Signing Charvarius Ward, letting K'Waun Williams and Jaquiski Tartt walk, are some indication that they are committed to the younger movement. And also that they are not going to stick with injury prone players either
With how their defensive line is looking, it might not even matter that they are going with the unproven players at safety to start next to Ward. It's a gamble, but you could appreciate the risk taking by the 49ers here.
