49ers to host free agent CB Shareece Wright

The San Francisco 49ers are bringing a cornerback to town for a visit, as Shareece Wright is in town today. Ian Rapoport was first on that, and is reporting there is "[l]ot of mutual interest here." Wright was drafted in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft, nine spots after recently departed 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver. Wright spent the first four seasons of his career in San Diego.

I hit up John Gennaro from Bolts from the Blue to get his thoughts on Wright. He is not overly impressed with Wright. He described him as "not very good. not a very good tackler, pretty terrible in coverage. Not well-suited for nickel either. Probably a solid dime CB." It was not a pretty season for Wright. He also was seventh worst among cornerbacks with 11 penalties, including eight for defensive pass interference. Here are his coverage numbers from PFF:

I asked him for any strengths and the only one he could think of was that he is about the right size for cornerbacks. Apparently the most memorable aspect of his time in San Diego is that two years ago every WR that went up against him in training camp would get seriously injured. Players were dealing with torn ACLs, smashed kneecaps, and so forth. Gennaro said fans were openly asking for him to be benched at practice.

The Chargers signed Brandon Flowers and drafted Jason Verrett in the first round last year, in hopes of not having to start Wright. When Wright did get into the lineup due to injuries, he was targeted constantly and gave up a lot of penalties and big plays.

If Wright were to sign, he would most certainly be competing for nickel and dime work at bet. He does not have much experience in the slot, so if (big IF) he ended up on the team, he would be a guy who could take over outside while Dontae Johnson moved inside. That is of course, assuming Johnson ends up as one of the starters. My guess is Johnson and Tramaine Brock end up the starters this fall, but the team still could go big at cornerback in the draft. I don't think we see a first round cornerback, but maybe Trent Baalke will surprise us.