SANTA CLARA — Isaiah Oliver, once considered a near-certainty to win the job for the 49ers’ nickel back competition, has not done his part to bring an end to the competition.
Oliver had a shaky preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders after failing to seize control of the position in the opening weeks of training camp.
Now, there’s a battle going on for the all-important job of lining up against the opponent’s slot receiver. It was Jimmie Ward’s job last season, but now he is a member of the Houston Texans.
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Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said Tuesday it is possible the 49ers will replace Ward with multiple players, depending on the skill set of the offensive players they will go up against in nickel situations.
“It is just really a Rolodex of players, to be quite honest with you,” Wilks said of the different options the team is considering.
One of the moves the 49ers tried out Tuesday is shifting Deommodore Lenoir from cornerback on base downs to nickel in passing situations.
“I walked up to him and he talked about taking the classroom to the field,” Wilks said of Lenoir. “He got back in there today, and it's like he had been playing nickel all offseason.
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“So that was encouraging to see. Just his communication, recognizing formations, and adjusting to motion and those kinds of things because it happens fast in there.”
Part of the reason the 49ers feel comfortable with the possibility of moving Lenoir inside in key situations is because of the progress the team has seen from young cornerbacks Samuel Womack and Ambry Thomas.
“I think you have to always look at, ‘OK, we need our best guys on the field,’ and it depends on right now who's playing the best,” Wilks said. “If Ambry or Womack is playing better, of course, we're going to move Demo back inside.
“So I think it's a luxury that you have these options. And what we’re trying to create once again is just a competition across the board.”
Wilks pointed out that the 49ers also tried rookie cornerback D’Shawn Jamison at nickel, as well as A.J. Parker, who has been lining up with the second-team defense while Oliver took the vast majority of the first-team reps through three weeks of training camp.
“We just really continue to try to find the mix,” Wilks said. “We love the competition and trying to make sure guys continue to get better.”