The San Francisco 49ers didn't address the cornerback position in this year's draft until their final pick when they selected Tim Harris of Virginia in the sixth round. Instead, the team bolstered its pass rush with defensive end Nick Bosa of Ohio State, which should help the pass defense too, and added some weapons for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on offense.
ESPN analyst Todd McShay has the 49ers going cornerback in his way-too-early first-round projections for the 2020 NFL Draft. San Francisco is selecting at No. 11 in the draft order and picks up CJ Henderson of Florida.
"Henderson has six interceptions in two seasons with the Gators," writes McShay. "And the Niners need options at defensive back."
The draft order itself was generated using early projected records from Football Outsiders. McShay does offer the following note:
"This is an extremely early projection of the first round of next year's NFL draft. I haven't even studied tape on most of these players yet; I start in on that next week, so these evaluations are based on watching players in person or on TV last season."
Henderson, who is entering his junior year, is the first cornerback off the board in McShay's early mock draft. The 6-foot-1 and 191-pound defensive player has recorded 60 combined tackles, five for a loss, three sacks, six interceptions, two touchdowns, nine passes defensed, and two forced fumbles during two seasons with the Gators.
The 49ers enter the 2019 season with Richard Sherman as a starter. 2020 will be the final year of the three-year deal he signed in March of last year. The team signed oft-injured veteran cornerback Jason Verrett this offseason, but it was to a one-year deal.
The 49ers also hope 2017 third-round pick Ahkello Witherspoon can emerge as the player they hoped him to be last season.
