The San Francisco 49ers didn't address the cornerback position until their very last selection in the 2019 NFL Draft when the team selected Tim Harris of Virginia in Round 6. General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan feel confident in the defensive backs currently on the roster.
Shanahan told reporters on Saturday that they looked at the draft and felt it would be difficult to find a player who could come in a beat out Richard Sherman or others like Jason Verrett and Ahkello Witherspoon. The same goes for safeties Jimmy Ward and Jaquiski Tartt, said the head coach.
"Tim Harris, very talented football player," Lynch said. "We felt very good about him. You just can't have enough good corners. So providing competition, athleticism, and he is a profile fit. We aren't married to that profile, but he certainly has that profile at 6-2, 200, and a kid who can run at 4.43, I believe."
Verrett has spent much of his career on injured reserve. The 49ers feel he can be one of the top cornerbacks in the league when healthy. Lynch and Shanahan believe Verrett can upgrade the position if he can stay on the field.
"I would also say, at the corner position, we went out there and got Jason Verrett, and history says he's been banged up but we took a flyer on that because, when healthy, he's one heck of a football player," Lynch said. "So we did that."
Harris dealt with several injuries during his collegiate career, which resulted in him playing six seasons at Virginia.
"I think he had a year where he had a medical redshirt," Lynch said. "He took care of that. As we looked at it, there was a shoulder injury. I think there was a broken arm, and so some upper extremity. But, at some point, you have to trust your medical staff that we're comfortable with where he's at, and we were comfortable with where he's at, and where we were at in the draft.
"Tim is another guy we brought in here (on a pre-draft visit), got comfortable with the person, loved the talent, and we jumped at it."
The 49ers also have one of the best in the game, veteran Richard Sherman, as a starting cornerback. He was signed before the start of free agency last year and spent much of the offseason recovering from an Achilles injury suffered while with the Seattle Seahawks.
Sherman played in 2018 and did an excellent job covering his side of the field, albeit doing so while dealing with a hamstring injury.
"I'm told that Richard Sherman was at no better than 80% last year, and he only got there after significant improvement in early November, right around when the Niners played the Giants," Albert Breer of The MMQB reported on April 1.
Breer went on to report that Sherman underwent surgery to have sutures, which were in place as part of his rehab process, removed from his heel after the season. The cornerback has felt much better since the procedure.
"Yeah, I look out my window, and he's getting up there in years, but he's right at the front of the pack," Lynch said. "He's pushing those guys. I think my own feeling, we'll see a better version of Richard Sherman this year because he's a year further away from those procedures and had that cleanup. We'll see, but I'm hopeful."
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