Who Will Emerge as the 49ers' No. 3 Cornerback?

The 49ers have no idea who their no. 3 cornerback is.

Grant Cohn | Jul 12, 2024

August 19, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Ambry Thomas (20) after the game against the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers have been searching unsuccessfully for a no. 3 cornerback since Jimmie Ward left.

Ward was the nickelback in 2022. Then he signed with the Houston Texans in 2023 and, to replace him, the 49ers signed Isaiah Oliver who got benched at halftime of his first game with the 49ers. Then Ambry Thomas became the no. 3 cornerback -- he played outside in the nickel defense while Deommodore Lenoir moved to the slot. Then Thomas get benched midseason for Logan Ryan, who was retired when the 49ers signed him. Then Ryan gave up the game-losing touchdown catch in the Super Bowl, so he's gone.

Now the 49ers have no idea who their no. 3 cornerback is.

It might be Thomas, although he has lost that job more times than one can count. It might be veteran cornerback Isaac Yiadom, whom the 49ers signed this offseason. Yiadom is coming off a solid season as the Saints no. 3 cornerback, but it was the first solid season he's had in the NFL and he's 28. It's possible he's the next Isaiah Oliver.

Assuming Yiadom reverts to the player he always has been, the 49ers' best option to be the no. 3 cornerback might be rookie Renardo Green. Green played nickelback in OTAs and minicamp and broke up lots of passes -- he was one of the most active players in the secondary. He might commit some penalties early in his career, but he won't give up much separation.

So even if Green isn't the no. 3 cornerback to start the season, he might get the job by halftime of Week 1.

Published Jul 12, 2024

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.