The Final Grade For the 2021 49ers Cornerbacks
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Before the season began, I tweeted that the 49ers were one season-ending injury to Jason Verrett away from having a terrible group of cornerbacks.
Boy, was I wrong.
Verrett tore his ACL Week 1 and missed the rest of the season. This was the 49ers shut-down cornerback and without him, things seemed bleak. In 2020, Verrett played 13 games, allowed 50 catches on 75 targets (66%), broke up 7 passes, intercepted 2, gave up 1 touchdown catch and allowed a passer rating just 76.2. Elite numbers.
The 49ers needed a cornerback to step up.
And Emmanuel Moseley did. Here were his numbers in 2021: 11 games, 31 catches on 55 targets (56.3%), 11 pass breakups, 1 interception, 0 touchdowns and a mere 65.6 quarterback rating allowed. Which means Moseley put up better numbers than Verrett did the previous season. Who would have guessed?
Moseley has emerged as a top-notch starting corner. By the end of the season, opposing offenses mostly stayed away from him and challenged other cornerbacks.
Josh Norman was an easy target, and a terrible corner. But when the 49ers finally replaced him with rookie cornerback Ambry Thomas, suddenly they had no liabilities in their secondary. Thomas improved dramatically toward the end of the season, altough when he did get beat, he tended to give up big plays and touchdowns.
And nickelback K'Waun Williams was as solid and well-rounded as ever. If the 49ers had played him, Moseley and Thomas together all season, they would have had an above average trio.
Expect Moseley and Thomas to start next season, while Williams most likely will sign elsewhere in free agency.
FINAL GRADE: B.
