The 49ers Must Re-Sign Jason Verrett
You could argue Jason Verrett is the MVP of the 49ers defense this season.
Not the best player -- that's middle linebacker Fred Warner. But Verrett perhaps is even more valuable than Warner, because Verrett can cover the best wide receivers in the NFL, such as Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and shut them down.
Verrett shut down Hopkins this past Saturday during the 49ers' 20-12 win over Arizona. In fact, Verrett was the biggest difference between the 49ers' win over Arizona and their Week 1 loss. In that game, the score was 24-20. The 49ers scored the same amount of points in both games, but gave up 12 fewer points the second time around.
Verrett didn't play Week 1 -- the starting cornerbacks were Richard Sherman and Emmanuel Moseley. And Sherman doesn't cover man to man. Moseley tried, but he's not good enough to stop Hopkins -- few cornerbacks are good enough to match up with him.
Verrett clearly is one of them. He completely transformed the 49ers defense this season, and made defensive coordinator Robert Saleh's great, fresh ideas work.
Every team needs a cornerback who can cover the best wide receivers in its division. The 49ers need a cornerback who can cover Hopkins and Seahawks wide receiver D.K. Metcalf. And the 49ers didn't have a corner who could match up with them until Verrett emerged.
So the 49ers must find a way to re-sign Verrett this offseason. He should be one of their top priorities, along with left tackle Trent Williams. Because the 49ers would have to draft a cornerback in Round 1 to find someone to replace Verrett. He's that good.
