The San Francisco 49ers are overhauling their cornerback depth chart, with new starts at both outside spots and in the nickel in 2017. Rashard Robinson is expected to be one starter, and Keith Reaser, Dontae Johnson, and Ahkello Witherspoon are competing for the other starting job. K’Waun Williams and Will Redmond appear to be competing for the slot role.
It will be a fairly young cornerback room when the season gets going, and Rashard Robinson is likely going to be looked to as a leader of the group. He would appear to be the most talented of the group, but his emergence as a leader is a work in progress.
That being said, there are some positive signs. Robinson did not participate in full drills during the team’s mandatory minicamp due to what the beat writers have deemed a minor injury. However, he has remained active with his teammates. According to 49ers.com’s Joe Fann, during the team’s final practice, Robinson was serving as a hype man for the defense. (h/t 49ers sub-Reddit)
2. Rashard Robinson didn’t practice on Wednesday with a minor injury, but he was still very much a part of each drill. At the start of each period, Robinson would go into the defensive huddle, dap each player, then race back to the sideline. He was also the hype man for whenever a 49ers defender made a big play. Of course, Robinson held onto his helmet throughout, just in case coaches decided he needed a few reps. (They made no such decision.)
This is just one anecdote, but it’s an interesting one. Robinson came into the NFL having sat out a year-and-a-half due to off-field issues. He only has one year under his belt, so there is plenty of work in front of him, but in his year-plus with the team, things seem to be moving in the right direction.