NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

Ranking the San Francisco 49ers most important position battles

By Nicholas McGee

October 2, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman (53) sacks Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
October 2, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman (53) sacks Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 5
Next
December 24, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Rashard Robinson (33) following the 22-21 victory against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
December 24, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Rashard Robinson (33) following the 22-21 victory against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Cornerback

There is no doubting the talent on the back end of the 49ers defense, but while it would be wrong to call them thin at the cornerback position, it is an area where they are young. Second-year cornerback Rashard Robinson is the corner with the most starts on the roster following Tramaine Brock’s release and, with Jimmie Ward moving to safety, San Francisco looks set to field two inexperienced corners as starters.

Rookie Ahkello Witherspoon, Dontae Johnson and Keith Reaser are all contenders to start along with Robinson and, per Niners Nation, it is the latter who appears the front-runner so far in OTAs. Reaser took the bulk of the first-team snaps ahead of Johnson, with Witherspoon limited to second-team snaps. Fourth-year player Reaser relies more on his speed whereas length is the main asset of Robinson, Johnson and Witherspoon.

Whether Reaser remains the starter throughout the buildup to the new season remains to be seen, but the 49ers need to be especially confident in the player that wins the job due to their inability to generate pass rush in recent times.

San Francisco will hope DeForest Buckner, Solomon Thomas and Arik Armstead can increase the amount of disruption caused by the defense but the fact is this is a team that had just 33 sacks last season and waited until the sixth round of the draft to an edge rusher.

Next: 2017 NFL Power Rankings: First-wave OTAs edition

If the 49ers cannot create pressure, then that will add to the burden on the corners on the outside to perform. Corner is one of the most important positions in football and, with the Niners having struggled to get to the quarterback, no position battle on the team deserves greater focus than this one.