Breaking Down San Francisco 49ers' New-Look Secondary Position-by-Position
The San Francisco 49ers’ defensive backs get no respect.
The 49ers ranked fifth in pass defense last season, and yet you hardly hear a peep about their defensive backs. All the press goes to the Niners’ linebackers and defensive linemen who are retiring, players who are no longer players.
Let’s shift the focus to players who still play. Let’s examine five in particular—the defensive backs, the 49ers’ last line of defense.
The Niners have two new starting cornerbacks. They have a slot cornerback who was a first-round pick last year and missed half his rookie season with a broken foot. They have a free safety who was a Pro Bowler his rookie year but not his second season, and they have a strong safety who turns 31 in July.
Who are these guys? How good are they?
Here is a complete breakdown of the 49ers’ new secondary.
Tramaine Brock, Left Cornerback, 6th Year
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Brock is better than former 49ers’ starting cornerback Chris Culliver, who signed with the Washington Redskins this offseason.
Brock missed 13 games last season with a toe injury and a hamstring injury. He was a total nonfactor. The season before, he was one of the best cornerbacks in the league.
Compare Brock’s 2013 numbers to Joe Haden’s 2013 numbers, courtesy of Pro Football Focus. Haden plays for the Cleveland Browns, and he made the Pro Bowl in 2013.
Brock: 55.4 completion percentage allowed, 76.8 passer rating allowed, 5 interceptions
Haden: 55.6 completion percentage allowed, 75.2 passer rating allowed, 4 interceptions
Practically identical statistics.
Haden played 1,064 snaps that season. Brock played just 678—he was the Niners No. 3 cornerback before starter Tarell Brown got hurt Week 11. If Brock had started from Week 1, he probably would have made the Pro Bowl.
The 678 snaps Brock played in 2013 were a career high for him. If he can stay healthy, he could become an “A-” or an “A” player.
Grade: B+
Jimmie Ward, Slot Cornerback, 2nd Year
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Jimmie Ward was the 49ers’ first-round draft pick last year. He had a Jones fracture in his foot when the 49ers drafted him, and he missed OTAs and minicamp while he rehabbed. He returned for training camp, re-broke his foot Week 10 and missed the rest of the season.
Before he re-broke his foot, Ward showed he is a terrific tackler and a good blitzer. He’s a tough little guy who played safety in college and loves to hit.
Those are good qualities for a slot cornerback to have. A slot corner plays in the box close to the linebackers. He has to be ready to take on a pulling guard if it’s a running play. Ward can do that.
But he can’t cover a good receiver man to man. That’s the most important skill a slot corner should have, and Ward doesn’t have it. Tackling and blitzing are secondary skills for a corner.
Ward gave up a 134.3 passer rating last season, according to Pro Football Focus. After he got hurt, Dontae Johnson took his place as the slot corner and gave up a passer rating of 88.3.
Johnson can’t hit like Ward, but he’s a better at man-to-man coverage. Don’t be surprised if Johnson eventually takes Ward’s job.
Grade: B-
Shareece Wright, Right Cornerback, 5th Year
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Shareece Wright is better than former 49ers’ starting cornerback Perrish Cox, who signed with the Tennessee Titans this offseason.
Wright played for the San Diego Chargers last season. Opposing offenses didn’t throw at Wright very often. He was targeted once every 6.5 snaps on passing plays, according to Pro Football Focus. He ranked tied for 24th in the NFL. Not bad.
Wright isn’t perfect. He tends to grab the wide receiver he’s covering if he gets fooled, and he got fooled a lot last season. He was penalized 13 times. Ten of those penalties resulted in automatic first downs for the other team.
I’m letting Wright off the hook for those flags. The Chargers had a bad run defense, and cornerbacks get fooled more often when they constantly have to worry about stopping the run.
The 49ers have a solid run defense. Wright shouldn’t get fooled much this season.
Grade: B
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Antoine Bethea, Strong Safety, 10th Year
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Antoine Bethea is old for a defensive back.
When last season started, many experts believed Bethea was just a placeholder until first-round pick Jimmie Ward bulked up and took Bethea’s place at strong safety.
Don’t count on that happening anytime soon.
Ward couldn’t last more than eight games last season. Bethea played all 16 and made the Pro Bowl. Ward isn’t in Bethea’s class.
Bethea replaced Donte Whitner, a ferocious hitter and a very good player. Bethea doesn’t hit as hard as Whitner, but Bethea is the better overall player. He proved that last season. Bethea had four interceptions and 10 pass breakups with the 49ers, and Whitner had one interception and five pass breakups with the Cleveland Browns.
Bethea is a cleaner player than Whitner, too. Whitner has been penalized 10 times the past two seasons, while Bethea has not been penalized at all.
Grade: A-
Eric Reid, Free Safety, 3rd Year
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The 49ers took Eric Reid in the first round of the 2013 draft. They drafted Reid instead of cornerbacks Xavier Rhodes and Desmond Trufant even though the Niners needed a cornerback.
The decision seemed good at first. Reid played like the second coming of Ronnie Lott his rookie season, but he had a major slump his second season, while Rhodes and Trufant became shutdown cornerbacks—bona fide “A” players.
Reid is big and fast, and he does certain things very well. He has great hands for a defensive back. He has intercepted seven passes his first two seasons in the league.
But he’s not very good in man coverage. He is a liability in the red zone if the opposing team can match up its best receiver against him. The Chicago Bears did this Week 2. Martellus Bennett beat Reid for a three-yard touchdown catch.
There is one more knock against Reid. He already has had three concussions during his career—two his rookie season, one last season. Chris Borland retired after just two concussions. One more concussion could end Reid’s career.
Grade: B+
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