The San Francisco 49ers cornerback position has been simultaneously one of the most concerning and surprisingly competent positions in recent years. The 49ers have lacked a consistent top cornerback for a long, long time and that's led me to a particular brand of panic and doom, though I always end up being pleasantly surprised with the way the secondary plays.
Over the years, the 49ers have had good coaching from Ed Donatell, though that's not the case anymore, and now they have a bunch of young cornerbacks who are really hard to place at this point. Tramaine Brock is the leader of the group, and he had an up-and-down 2015 but overall, he looks ready to be in the picture heading into next season.
After him, there's Dontae Johnson, a chronically misused player in the 49ers' secondary who has probably shown enough strong play to be in the discussion going forward. Keith Reaser and Kenneth Acker were both hurt a lot as rookies and finally saw the field for the first time last year. Acker got the backing of the coaching staff and looked good at times, though he didn't finish strong while Reaser and Johnson started getting mixed in more.
Suffice to say, the 49ers do not have a shutdown, lockdown cornerback on the roster. They have been lacking a true No. 1 cornerback for so long I'm not sure they'll ever find one. Whether from the NFL Draft or free agency, they need to address the position at some point. Below, I'll list all the free agent cornerbacks for this offseason.
Leon Hall, Cincinnati Bengals
Sean Smith, Kansas City Chiefs
Prince Amukamara, New York Giants
Greg Toler, Indianapolis Colts
Jerraud Powers, Arizona Cardinals
Morris Claiborne, Dallas C owboys
Alan Ball, Chicago Bears
Nolan Carroll, Philadelphia Eagles
Adam Jones, Cincinnati Bengals
Terence Newman, Minnesota Vikings
Brandon Browner, New Orleans Saints
Patrick Robinson, San Diego Chargers
Tarell Brown, New England Patriots
Josh Robinson, San Diego Chargers
Trumaine Johnson, Los Angeles Rams
William Gay, Pittsburgh Steelers
Cody Sensabaugh, Tennessee Titans
Josh Norman, Carolina Panthers
Janoris Jenkins, Los Angeles Rams
Trumaine McBride, New York Giants
Antonio Allen, New York Jets
Johnson Bademosi, Cleveland Browns
Antwon Blake, Pittsburgh Steelers
Brandon Boykin, Pittsburgh Steelers
Charles Tillman, Carolina Panthers
Sterling Moore, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Marcus Sherels, Minnesota Vikings
Darrin Walls, New York Jets
Casey Hayward, Green Bay Packers
Mike Jenkins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jayron Hosley, New York Giants
Omar Bolden, Denver Broncos
Ron Brooks, Buffalo Bills
Jeremy Lane, Seattle Seahawks
Sherrick McManis, Chicago Bears
Kyle Wilson, New Orleans Saints
Josh Wilson, Detroit Lions
Jamell Fleming, Kansas City Chiefs
Shareece Wright, Baltimore Ravens
E.J. Biggers, Philadelphia Eagles
Tracy Porter, Chicago Bears
Marcus Cooper, Kansas City Chiefs
Will Blackmon, Washington
Brandon Harris, Tennessee Titans
Charles James, Baltimore Ravens
Crezdon Butler, Detroit Lions
Christopher Owens, New Orleans Saints
Corey White, Arizona Cardinals
Cortland Finnegan, Carolina Panthers
Cassius Vaughn, San Diego Chargers
Brandian Ross, San Diego Chargers
Joshua Thomas, Dallas Cowboys
That's a big, long list and there are obviously a lot of names that sound appealing. Sean Smith, Janoris Jenkins and of course, Josh Norman, but I expect none of those three to actually hit the open market at the end of the day. Norman will get tagged or he'll get a huge extension, and the same can probably said for Smith.
See any names that are actually feasible that would improve the 49ers' cornerback position?