Will the 49ers Overcome the Loss of Emmanuel Moseley?

The 49ers have managed to overcome the absence of multiple key players on defense before. Will this time be any different?

A win can never be fully enjoyed for the San Francisco 49ers.

Emmanuel Moseley is set to miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL in the 49ers' 37-15 win against the Panthers. Moseley was yet again playing incredible. He even had a pick-six, which had to have felt riveting for him. That riveting feeling should have been felt after the game as well, but his injury occurred. Just an absolute awful deal for Moseley who was en route to a Pro Bowl season.

Now, the 49ers have to make due without him. This won't be the first time the 49ers have had to move on with a key player out. Arik Armstead, Javon Kinlaw, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Jimmie Ward have missed time, yet the 49ers defense continues to excel. Still, Moseley was playing at a high level and getting someone else to replicate his impact will be challenging.

So will the 49ers be able to overcome the loss of Moseley?

I don't believe they will. Look, the 49ers defense will still be stout and ferocious. But now they have a weak point that offenses can look to exploit. Remember how last season went for the defense. They had every area on the defense sound except for cornerback. Just having one weak link at corner can make a difference. Converting first-downs become more likely for an offense. It can be from either beating the corner in pass coverage or simply forcing them into a penalty.

Ambry Thomas can't fill the shoes of Moseley. Sticking Samuel Womack III or Deommodore Lenoir could be sufficient, but there is still a wide gap in the way Moseley was playing. It wasn't just the magnificent coverage that Moseley was playing, but his run defense and tackling as well. Whoever fills in has to be solid in both areas for the defense to be at the same level.

The only way this defense sustains its historical pace is if Jason Verrett is out there soon and can tap into his 2020 form, which will be a tall task. I doubt Verrett will be good to go for the Falcons game as the 49ers will want to keep working him in slowly. The slow integration game is the best course of action with Verrett for the 49ers. They have to ensure he is fully fit when he suits up so he can be ready for the long-haul.

For now, the 49ers will be left with Thomas, Lenoir, Womack or Dontae Johnson if he is good to go. Johnson is the best option to go with since he can come up in run support and improved in pass coverage last season. Ultimately, everything comes down to the fitness and ability of Verrett. The 49ers defense has overcome plenty of key players being absent, but the difference is that they had adequate talents to fill in for the likes of Ward, Armstead and Al-Shaair.

Cornerback is not the same. The only player capable is Verrett and he is going to be a huge question mark coming back. If he can come back strong and comes close to what he was in 2020, then this defense won't skip a beat. Anything less will mean that this defense will regress to an extent that resembles last season in their pass coverage.