Top cornerback duos San Francisco 49ers will face in 2021 season
The San Francisco 49ers made a huge swing in the 2021 NFL Draft by trading up to the No. 3 pick and selecting Trey Lance. While John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan are rooting for Lance’s success -- perhaps as early as Week 1 -- opposing defenses have other plans.The 49ers have the 19th-toughest strength of schedule entering the 2021 season, but there are some formidable defenses in their path. Whether it is Lance or incumbent QB Jimmy Garoppolo under center, here are five cornerback tandems that will attempt to torment the 49ers’ passing attack.
Darius Slay was a coveted addition for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020. The Birds handed the former Detroit Lion a three-year, $50-plus million deal, and he didn’t disappoint. While he only had one interception, he was a consistent part of an otherwise lost year for the organization.
The Eagles’ other top corner is Steven Nelson. The six-year veteran spent his first four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs before playing in Pittsburgh in 2019 and 2020. He has seven interceptions across the last three seasons.
The 49ers will head to Lincoln Financial Field to face the Eagles in Week 2.
The Green Bay Packers were nearly as good in the passing game on defense as they were on offense in 2020.
Led by cornerback Jaire Alexander, Green Bay held opponents to just 221.2 passing yards per game en route to the No. 1 seed in the NFC last season. Alexander only had one interception, but he had the highest Pro Football Focus grade among corners at 90.5.
Kevin King and first-round pick Eric Stokes are next on the cornerback depth chart in Green Bay. King had five interceptions during the 2019 season, and the addition of Stokes will allow Matt LaFleur to move members of the secondary around.
The 49ers will host the Packers on Sunday Night Football in Week 3 for their home opener.
The 49ers will see a familiar face when they line up against the Seattle Seahawks this season.
Ahkello Witherspoon signed a one-year deal with the 49ers’ divisional rival after spending the first four years of his career in San Francisco. Witherspoon has four career interceptions and is confident he can be the best cornerback in the league if he can stay healthy.
D.J. Reed also got his first real shot in the Seahawks’ secondary in 2020 and is expected to have an increased role in 2021. He defended seven passes and picked off two more in eight starts during the 2020 season.
The 49ers will host the Seahawks in Week 4 before playing in Seattle for a Sunday Night Football showdown in Week 13.
The Indianapolis Colts’ defense played a major part in getting the team back to the playoffs in 2020.
Rhodes was a three-time Pro Bowler in Minnesota before joining the Colts in 2020. He bounced back from an interception-less 2019 by snagging two picks while starting all 16 games on Indianapolis’ eighth-ranked defense.
Moore II set career highs with four interceptions and 13 passes defended in 2020. He also scored his first NFL touchdown with a pick-six against the Detroit Lions.
The 49ers return from their bye week to play the Colts in Week 7.
Jalen Ramsey is somehow not the best player on his own defense -- it’s nearly impossible to grab that distinction when you are teammates with Aaron Donald. Nonetheless, the 2016 first-round pick out of Florida State is still one of the true lockdown corners in the NFL.
Ramsey’s box score stats from 2020 don’t jump off the page: 44 tackles, nine passes defended and one interception. Those stats are so low because few quarterbacks even dared to look in his direction. His suffocating coverage earned him a spot on the All-Pro first team.
The Los Angeles Rams’ other top corner is Darious Williams, who reaped the rewards of playing alongside Ramsey in 2020 by securing a career-high four interceptions.
The 49ers will welcome the Rams to Santa Clara for a Monday Night Football matchup in Week 10 and end their season in L.A. for a Week 18 battle.
