INDIANAPOLIS — Run up and down the San Francisco 49ers’ roster and it’s difficult to find a better positional group than the secondary.
Jimmie Ward become a topic of conversation Wednesday at the NFL Combine between new head coach Kyle Shanahan and local scribes on the scene.
After evaluating the game film internally with his coaching staff, Shanahan isn’t quite sure if the 25-year-old will play cornerback or his college position of safety in 2017.
“I’m not sure, yet,” Shanahan said. “That’s something that’ll be discussed because I know that he’s capable of doing both. When we know our whole roster and our options in the draft, free agency, what’s he going to be best for us. But when you have a guy who’s capable of playing both, it gives you some freedom, which is nice.”
Despite a franchise worst run stopping unit, the secondary actually finished 19th in the NFL, allowing 240.5 pass yards per game. Ward had a handful of solid outings in 2016, including on the road in Arizona and an interception to start things off against the Jets.
But a noticeable problem for a year ago was all the switching around former defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil required of Ward. He would normally play outside cornerback against base sets and then slide to nickel back against three wide receiver
“I mean the more a guy can do, the better,” Shanahan said. “But also the more a guy does, the worse he gets. So that all depends on the person, depends on the scheme. They did a lot of man-to-man coverage, and I know they probably wanted to put him in the best spot to cover some the best receivers. It depends on what we’re doing schematically and it depends on the other guys who are there.
“Anytime you’ve got a guy versatile like him, as a coach, it gives you more options. So you just got to make sure whatever options you choose, you’re doing the best by him and the best by the team also.”