© Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
In the 2020 NFL Draft, the 49ers opted to ignore one glaring need in favor of players already within their ranks. The cornerback position was left untouched. That may well pan out fine this year, but they cannot afford to pursue a similar approach in next year’s draft.
Richard Sherman, K’Waun Williams, Ahkello Witherspoon and Jaquiski Tartt are all unrestricted free agents (as are Jason Verrett and Jamar Taylor). Emmanuel Moseley is a restricted free agent. That’s the entire secondary aside from Jimmie Ward.
With that in mind, ESPN’s Todd McShay sees San Francisco going back to the familiar Will Muschamp well at South Carolina and taking cornerback Israel Mukuama. Kiper wrote:
“Niners defensive coordinator Robert Saleh loves length at cornerback for his physical single-high scheme, and Mukuamu is a 6-foot-4 press corner with arm length for days. His ball production was outstanding in 2019 with nine passes broken up and four picks, though he is still developing his recognition skills. Richard Sherman and Ahkello Witherspoon lead a pack of seven cornerbacks on this San Francisco roster playing on the last year of their deals this season (five of whom will be unrestricted free agents). Mukuamu has the football sense to pick up the scheme quickly and make a big impact in his first pro season.”