Three Reasons 49ers Should Target a Cornerback With Pick No. 13

The San Francisco 49ers have two picks in the first round of the upcoming NFL Draft and will likely be choosing between a cornerback and wide receiver.

With the NFL Draft steadily approaching, the San Francisco 49ers have two primary needs, cornerback and wide receiver. Luckily, the 49ers have a couple of first-round picks after sending DeForest Buckner to Indianapolis. This should give general manager John Lynch plenty of resources to fill the holes that exist on the team, but the question arises, which position should he prioritize?

San Francisco elected to let Emmanuel Sanders walk in free agency as he signed with the New Orleans Saints, so the answer to the question above might seem pretty obvious, wide receiver. The 33-year-old’s departure is the primary reason the Red and Gold need a new wideout and it would make a lot of sense to replace him with the 13th overall pick. However, that perspective is looking at the situation from a surface level point of view and doesn’t paint the whole picture.

Below are three reasons why the 49ers should target a cornerback instead of a wide receiver with the organization’s first selection.

Depth of the draft classes

Many draft analysts and general managers have called this year’s wide receiver class one of the best they’ve seen in a while. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah stated that this is the best group at the position he’s ever seen, and Las Vegas Raiders’ GM Mike Mayock said there is an abnormal amount of players who are worthy of a first to third-round grade.

This unprecedented amount of depth means the 49ers should have no problem finding a quality wideout with the 31st pick. Sure, this also could mean the teams picking ahead of San Francisco prioritize other positions and one or both of the top prospects, CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy fall into the team’s lap. However, the lack of depth at cornerback, in comparison to its offensive counterpart, should still persuade Lynch to address the defensive side of the ball in that situation.

While the corner class isn’t as deep as the receivers are, that’s not to say that there aren’t quality defensive backs available. Florida’s C.J. Henderson and LSU’s Kristian Fulton are both worthy of a top-15 selection and realistic options for the Red and Gold, there’s just a drop off after those two. At the end of the day, prioritizing a cornerback gives the 49ers a better chance to walk away with two very talented players at positions of need, whereas accomplishing that will be much more difficult the other way around.

Finding Richard Sherman’s successor

Richard Sherman is arguably the best cornerback of this generation and as long as he’s on the roster, San Francisco doesn’t need a number one corner. Even at 31 years old he still managed to play at an All-Pro level last season, however, his age should not be taken lightly.

The future Hall of Famer is entering the last year of his contract and isn’t exactly a spring chicken anymore. Figuring out a succession plan needs to be at the forefront of John Lynch’s mind and procrastinating until next offseason is a recipe for disaster.

Resigning a 33-year-old would be a risky move, and asking a rookie to fill the massive void Sherman would leave behind is just flat out unreasonable. If the 49ers spend their top pick on his successor then the team would one, be getting a top-tier player at the position and two, give said player a year to get his feet wet before taking over as the number one cornerback. 

Even if Sherman is retained in 2021 and his performance transcends his age, having two shutdown defenders on the perimeter for the foreseeable future is a very good problem to have.

Do they really need a number one wide receiver?

Typically, when people talk about a “number one” wide receiver, they mean someone who can get open without much help from the offensive scheme. That’s extremely important in an offense that relies on a guy to win one-on-one matchups. However, this isn’t the case with San Francisco as head coach Kyle Shanahan is an offensive guru who specializes in scheming receivers open, so the team doesn’t necessarily need this type of player to be successful.

Last season is a perfect example of this as George Kittle led the team in every receiving category and the 49ers scored 29.9 points per game, which ranked second in the NFL. Yes, Emmanuel Sanders played a big role in that success also, but he isn’t considered an elite wideout which further proves that type of player isn’t necessary for San Francisco. In Shanahan’s offense, Kittle can serve as the “number one” receiver and the team can get away with lesser talent on the outside.

While it may appear that the Red and Gold desperately need a big playmaker at wide receiver, they will be just fine with the league’s best tight end, Deebo Samuel and late first-round pass-catcher.