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Taking Stock of the 49ers Defensive Backs

Are they getting better or worse?
Grant Cohn|
Taking Stock of the 49ers Defensive Backs
Taking Stock of the 49ers Defensive Backs

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San Francisco 49ers

Are the 49ers defensive backs getting better or worse?

Let's take stock.

Charvarius Ward

Just had by far the best season of his career and was rewarded by being named to the Pro Bowl. Ward recorded a whopping five interceptions and a league-high 23 pass breakups, often while shadowing the opponent's No. 1 receiver most of the game. Ward was as close to a shutdown cornerback as the 49ers have had since Deion Sanders. What an outstanding free agent signing he has been.

Stock up

Deommodore Lenoir

Lenoir evolved from being a borderline liability earlier in his career to being an excellent No. 2 cornerback who can play outside or in the slot, he can tackle and he can talk -- he's extremely confident. He's one of the best cornerbacks the 49ers have drafted in a long time.

Stock up

Ambry Thomas

Got benched in the playoffs in favor of Logan Ryan, who's practically retired. Thomas probably won't last on the team much longer.

Stock down

Talanoa Hufanga

It was always going to be tough for him to top his monster All Pro 2022 season. In 2023, he was a bit less consistent, although he still made big plays. But then he tore his ACL, and while players bounce back from that injury all the time, Hufanga already was a slower safety. It will be interesting to see if he regains the speed he had, because he can't afford to lose it.

Stock down

Tashaun Gipson

He has been one of the most underrated safeties in the NFL for almost a decade, but he'll be 34 next season. It's time for the 49ers to move on.

Stock down

Ji'Ayir Brown

Filled in for Hufanga after he tore his ACL, and intercepted Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl. Brown is a playmaker who seems to have a bright future.

Stock down

Published
Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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