The San Francisco 49ers are overhauling their cornerback depth chart, and for the time being, it appears second year corner Rashard Robinson will be atop the list. By all accounts, he is starting at one spot, and Ahkello Witherspoon, Keith Reaser, and Dontae Johnson have been competing on the other side.
On Tuesday, 49ers GM John Lynch brought up Robinson in his discussion of who has stood out. The conversation was focused on new players, but he gave a shout-out to Robinson as well.
“I didn’t know much about Rashard Robinson, but when you watch him in OTAs, he looks like a No. 1 corner. And that certainly was a position of need and of concern for us. And Rashard has made us feel a lot better about that position.”
Robinson had a strong rookie season. He had his share of struggles, but for a guy who had not been on a football field the previous year and a half, it was a strong showing. He brings the size and length the 49ers are looking for moving forward, and there is no concern about a lack of confidence.
Yesterday, Scott Geelan put together some thoughts on the different looks we might see from Robert Saleh’s defense. He suggested we might see Robinson tracking the opposition’s best receiver all around the field, rather than keeping Robinson on one side. The latter would let opponents move their best receiver moving around to face weaker cornerbacks. Of course, if Ahkello Witherspoon can eventually emerge as a solid option opposite Robinson, that would make life that much easier!