Even as recently as last offseason, the San Francisco 49ers’ secondary was regarded as a weakness of the team, an area that could be exploited because of less than ideal depth and a group protected significantly by the strength of the front seven.
While the depth has often been shaky, last year it seemed an unfair critique after a 2022 season in which Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir shone and safety Talanoa Hufanga enjoyed a first-team All-Pro campaign.
The back end of the defense proved that such criticism was off-base in 2023 despite losing Hufanga to a torn ACL and enduring issues in the first half of the season in the slot.
Ward led the NFL in pass breakups (23) and tallied five interceptions in a second-team All-Pro season that furthered his reputation as a true lockdown corner on the outside. Meanwhile, Lenoir took another step forward in his first full season as a starter, providing extremely valuable versatility in manning both the outside and the slot down the stretch and in the playoffs.
Ambry Thomas had some postseason problems that overshadowed his solid play in the second half of the regular season that facilitated Lenoir being able to kick inside. Still, rather than being explicitly a pass rush over coverage team, the 49ers have become a defense increasingly capable of leaning on excellent coverage in the secondary, especially as the vaunted pass rush regularly failed to fire on all cylinders last season.
The 49ers added extensively to the secondary in the offseason, signing three corners in free agency and drafting Renardo Green in the second round. They also drafted a safety in the fourth round in Malik Mustapha out of Wake Forest.
Those moves have helped to firmly solidify the 49ers' depth in the secondary, and San Francisco's position in Pro Football Focus' secondary rankings hammers home the point that the position group is long past being a weakness for the team.
San Francisco sits second in PFF's rankings, trailing only the New York Jets, whom the 49ers will face on Monday Night Football in Week 1.
PFF's John Kosko writes of the 49ers' secondary:
The 49ers secondary doesn’t boast household names, but the team consistently puts together a unit that makes life difficult for opposing quarterbacks and receivers. The group is led by Charvarius Ward, who put up an 86.5 coverage grade in 2023. The Niners also added Isaac Yiadom (80.4) to man the slot and selected a couple of players in the draft to generate good depth in the room.
One problem with Kosko's analysis surrounds free agent addition Yiadom, who is unlikely to be asked to play the slot. Yiadom's most probable role is as an outside corner on nickel downs if the 49ers continue to ask Lenoir to kick inside.
But Yiadom could end up simply serving as a very valuable insurance policy if rookie Green continues to impress. The 49ers have expressed great satisfaction with how he has taken to the challenge of practicing at both outside corner and nickel in OTAs and minicamp and he could well begin his maiden season in the latter role.
The fact the 49ers could well end up with Yiadom, fellow free agent signing Rock Ya-Sin and potentially Thomas, who faces a fight for his roster spot but has the benefit of significant experience, on the bench is illustrative of the strength in depth San Francisco now has at corner.
Depth is still an issue at safety, where the backups to Hufanga and the ascending Ji'Ayir Brown are the starters with Mustapha and special teamer George Odum as the backups. Yet the 49ers still have time to add another veteran to the mix there and, while the situation at safety is a tad shaky, it does not take away from the fact that the 49ers have shook off any misconceptions about their secondary by transforming it into one of the best in the league.
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