Defensive Coordinator Steve Wilks Sizes up the 49ers Cornerbacks

Wilks' forte is with the secondary, so he will know how to get the most out of this group and put them in a position to succeed.

The strength of the San Francisco 49ers on defense has always been the defensive line.

A dominant pass rush is something Kyle Shanahan firmly believes a defense should have if it is to be successful. And for the most part, it has worked wonders. But the 49ers have been lacking in the secondary, specifically at cornerback under Shanahan's watch. It is always the Achilles heel of the defense. 

That might end up changing this year with defensive coordinator Steve Wilks now at the helm. Wilks' forte is with the secondary, so he will know how to get the most out of this group and put them in a position to succeed. With OTAs and minicamp coming to a close, Wilks gave his assessment and sized up the 49ers cornerbacks with how they've looked.

“I thought it was a lot of great competition this offseason. You look at Demo [Deommodore Lenoir], I thought he took strides this offseason and is really getting better. You can see his confidence and I think his confidence is coming from really in his preparation. If you watch him each and every day as I have, you see him taking steps and really focusing on the details in the classroom and it is transferring to the field. 

"Ambry [Thomas], I thought has had a great OTAs and mini-camp, so when you look at those two guys with the amount of reps, they've taken with Mooney not being there, I think it has only been a plus. And I saw progression with Sammy [Samuel Womack III] as well, Womack, so I'm excited about the young guys that we have on the outside. “

The comments from Wilks on Lenoir and Thomas are intriguing. For starters, Lenoir is assuredly going to be the starter opposite of Charvarius Ward this year. Hearing that he is improving from a coordinator who knows how to read into cornerbacks is fantastic. Coordinators of the past on the 49ers (Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans) would be taken with a bit of a grain of salt, especially Saleh. They both were linebacker-oriented coaches, so Wilks' words with cornerbacks carries more weight.

With Thomas, this one is an eyebrow raiser. I have Thomas as one of the players on the 49ers who is on the outside looking in. Meaning, I think he is going to be a top candidate for final roster cuts. Wilks is liking what he sees thus far, which I will get into further in an article that will follow this one. All in all, sounds like the 49ers are at a very solid spot with their cornerbacks.