© Jay Biggerstaff | 2018 Sep 23
It’s hard to argue the fact that the San Francisco 49ers were aggressive this offseason in addressing their most pressing needs. The team added help to the front-seven in Dee Ford, Nick Bosa and Kwon Alexander, as well as firepower on offense in Tevin Coleman, Jordan Matthews, Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd. However, one of the areas of concern that still exits is in the secondary, specifically at free safety.
The 49ers pass defense was historically bad in 2018, allowing 35 touchdowns passes and recording an NFL record low two total interceptions. The unit often looked confused, and missed assignments seemed to be commonplace.
When you look at the backend of the defense as a whole, it’s easy to see why John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan wanted to stay the course at cornerback and only added veteran Jason Verrett on a one-year deal. The reason is they’ve invested third-round picks in Ahkello Witherspoon and Tarvarius Moore the past two seasons, and when that kind of draft capital is spent on players, an organization has to see it through. The hope is one of those players can solidify the outside opposite Richard Sherman.
The safety position is a little different though. While Jaquiski Tartt and Marcell Harris look like a competent duo at strong safety, the thought process at the all important free safety spot is hard to justify.
In the 4-3 defense San Francisco runs, the single high safety is an important piece. With the free agent market flush with options, the 49ers instead decided to bring back Jimmie Ward, and hope Adrian Colbert can find his 2017 form.
With options like Earl Thomas, Adrian Amos and Eric Weddle available in free agency, opting to bring Ward back was a head scratching move. In five NFL seasons, Ward has ended up on injured reserve four times, and played in 51 of a possible 80 games. As far as 2019, Ward’s expected to be ready to start the season, but not before he has to recover from a broken collarbone he suffered at the team’s recent OTAs.
Perhaps more confusing is the fact that Ward was brought back to start at the position Colbert beat him out for in 2018. In fact, Ward was a backup corner to start last season. As far as his production when he has seen the field, Ward hasn’t intercepted a pass since 2016, and has two for his career.
At this point, it might benefit the 49ers to take a flyer on another safety, as there are veterans available. Tre Boston has experience in the type of defense the 49ers run during his time with the Chargers, and has eight interceptions the past two years. The entire 49ers defensive backfield has 10.
Another option that could be worth exploring is former All-Pro Eric Berry, who’s trying to revive his career after only playing in three games since the 2016 season. Berry’s injury history makes him a risk, but no more of a risk than Verrett, who has played in just five games the last three years, and just 25 games over a five-year career. Although Berry may not be ideally suited for single high at this point, he could still slide into the strong spot with Tartt more than capable of moving to free safety.
In the end, it’s possible that Ward and Colbert can provide enough as a duo, or possibly Tartt or Moore (who played free safety in college) can fill in if need be. Also, an improved pass rush may have a ripple effect on the entire secondary. But for how important year three of the rebuild is for this regime, it’s seems a little puzzling that solidifying free safety wasn’t more of a priority.