49ers Have yet to Decide on a Starting Nickel Cornerback

The 49ers signed Isaiah Oliver to fill in the starting nickel role left by Jimmie Ward, but it appears he isn't making his stamp.

One intriguing observation from the 49ers' first preseason game was the playing time of nickel cornerback Isaiah Oliver.

He played about the entire first half of the game, which was an indicator that he isn't a starter yet. When the 49ers signed him back in March in free agency, he was the clear cut fill in for Jimmie Ward there. But it appears he isn't making his stamp. 

"He isn't a guaranteed starter," Kyle Shanahan said of Oliver on his Monday conference call. "He has been doing that spot a lot, but there's a lot of competition there. We sat out our outside corners, but we didn't want to sit out any nickels and needed some guys to play because there's a lot of things we're still deciding.”

It's fairly alarming that Oliver hasn't locked up the nickel cornerback spot. He was brought in strictly for that reason. This likely means that he hasn't been "wowing" the coaches in any of the practices. And after seeing how he performed in the first preseason game against the Raiders, it makes sense why he hasn't been. 

“There were a couple things where he stood out that weren't always his fault," said Shanahan on Oliver's performance. "And I think he needs a little bit more help on the goal line. The touchdown they gave up, our corner playing with vision and understanding he's got to come off on that for our quarters-type coverage there. But it was a good first game for him and hopefully he'll keep getting better for us.” 

Oliver was mediocre in that game. The Raiders made it an emphasis to attack him, which means they viewed him as barbecued chicken. It's no wonder the 49ers haven't named him the starter. He struggled out there against a rookie quarterback and middle/bottom of the depth chart wide receivers. The stock on Oliver is descending and will need a dramatic improvement in the next preseason game to help.

Samuel Womack is the first player who comes to mind to take the job away, but he has been getting work on the outside. Hopefully the 49ers try him back in the slot again given how sweet he was this time last year. Aside from that, I'm not sure where the 49ers can look. Ambry Thomas, D'Shawn Jamsion and Qwuantrezz Knight are players who come to mind. 

Whoever ends up winning it needs to do it convincingly, or else the 49ers defense will have a new Achilles heel.