One Area the 49ers Defense Must Improve on in 2022
The 49ers defense was nothing short of elite in 2021.
If it wasn't for their efforts in being the anchor of the team, then the 49ers do not make it to playoffs.
However, they were far from perfect. There are still some things the defense needs to clean up on if they want to sustain this elite form into next season. But one area stands out the most that the 49ers defense must improve on in 2022.
Big plays.
They need to trim down the big plays surrendered.
The 49ers gave up 65 plays of 20+ yards in the regular season. That ties for No. 20 in the entire league. That just isn't going to cut it. One thing Robert Saleh always hung his hat on as defensive coordinator of the 49ers was limiting big plays. If they were going to give up points, then the offense was going to have to work for it.
Now, I am not blaming DeMeco Ryans at all. It is not like he could mask the deficiencies in the secondary, specifically at corner.
Cornerback was always the 49ers' biggest liability defensively. Even before Jason Verrett was injured or K'Waun Williams at one point, there were still questions about the position going into the season. The fact that those injuries did happen only made it worse. That is how Josh Norman had to step up along with Dontae Johnson, Deommodore Lenoir, and eventually Ambry Thomas.
Suring up this aspect of the defense will not be too difficult for the 49ers.
This largely has to do with the emergence of Thomas. He is still wet behind the ears out there, but it is clear that he is a starting caliber cornerback. The more he plays, the better he gets and it shows. He's just more comfortable out there and sure of himself. Even his teammates recognize that.
Then you have Emmanuel Moseley who is vastly underrated. He could easily start for every NFL team. I would presume, though anything can change from so far out, that these two are the starters. At that point, is just ensuring decent depth in case one of these players sustains an injury, especially Moseley. He is a sneaky injury prone player.
Other than that, Ryans just needs to figure out how he can get his corners to play more disciplined coverage. It seemed like a lot of time the corners were peaking too much in the backfield and weren't keeping in mind of their responsibility. But again, Norman is at fault with that and Thomas was going through his rookie lumps early on. The safeties aren't even worth mentioning because they were always solid.
If the 49ers can just cut those 65 big plays into 40 to 50, then they are looking superb.
