Is Cornerback the Strongest it’s Been for the 49ers in Recent Memory?

There is a case to be made that the cornerbacks of the 49ers are the best they've had since Kyle Shanahan became head coach.

Cornerback was a roller coaster ride for the 49ers last season.

Injuries played a part for some of the faults, but the secondary overall had some struggles. It wasn’t until Ambry Thomas started to find his footing toward the end of the season that the the secondary really became complete. 

2022 has the makings of a strong corner unit for the 49ers. With Charvarius Ward added along with a solid corner in Emmanuel Moseley and an ascending Thomas, the 49ers can be a complete secondary right from the get. Cornerback has never looked this complete before with the 49ers since Kyle Shanahan took over.

So is this the strongest that the cornerback position has been in recent memory for the 49ers?

I do not believe so.

Ward is a really good corner, but he isn’t elite. Moseley is underrated and is the perfect CB2, but is sneaky injury prone, so he’s not really dependable. Thomas showed promise, but still has a long way to go. And with Moseley and Ward poised to be the starters, you have to wonder how Thomas is actually going to continue to develop. It isn’t a bad trio that is at the top of the cornerback depth chart for the 49ers at all. It’s a fairly solid one that really shouldn’t generate concern. It is just that looking at it as a strong unit isn’t wise.

“I think our guys have a chance to be really good,” said DeMeco Ryans. “Corners, adding [Charvarius Ward] Mooney, [Emmanuel Moseley] E-Man has done a really great job this entire offseason. Ambry [Thomas] still is improving, still has a ways to go when it comes to improving and he's working at it daily. So all those guys, there's a lot of competition back there.”

Outside corner is more than fine. It is nickel corner that is the biggest question mark, not only for cornerback but the entire defense. Darqueze Dennard and Dontae Johnson seem the most primed for it, but I wouldn’t count out the young players at their disposal either.

“The young guys we brought in with Tariq [Castro-Fields] and [Samuel [Womack III], those guys have done a great job of coming in and doing what they're supposed to do and really pushing those guys," Ryans said. "So, it's a really good group and I like where we are. It's going to be great to see those guys coming back and coming to camp when it's real football and time to take off. I'm excited for where they are now and they can still improve and get even better, so it's going to be exciting for me to watch that.”

Let’s not forget about Jason Verrett, either. If he manages to sustain a healthy status going into the season, then the 49ers can be a cheat code defensively. Their front-seven is already top-tier. If the seocndary as a whole can reach that tier as well, then they’ll be unstoppable.

It is a long way to go for the 49ers to be a strong secondary, but the trajectory they have can lead them to a spot that makes them an unfair matchup.