The 49ers’ 90-man roster has taken shape, and camp battles are already developing on paper with organized team activities due to open May 20.
Some positions won’t have a lot of competition. Jimmy Garoppolo is locked in at the top of the depth chart. So are players like George Kittle and Dee Ford. Other spots will have a ton of competition based on the personnel on the roster going into OTAs. This is our seven-part series on the biggest roster battles we’ll have an eye on throughout the offseason.
The slot corner competition could probably fit under the general cornerback umbrella, but the 49ers have such an intriguing battle that it needed its own post. K’Waun Williams started as the team’s nickel corner last season, but wound up missing two games, allowing rookie defensive back D.J. Reed Jr. to slide into that spot. Reed thrived, and now there’s a real question about how San Francisco will iron out that spot on their roster.
Here’s what the slot corner competition looks like:
The contenders
K’Waun Williams – Year 5
D.J. Reed Jr. – Year 2
The lowdown
There’ll be other players who get snaps in the slot, but Williams and Reed are the main contenders barring injury or the emergence of a future Hall of Famer on the roster.
Williams was very good last season, and has been since he arrived in San Francisco prior to the 2017 campaign. His stranglehold on the starting job forced Reed to move to safety in his rookie season. Reed saw snaps at free safety and cornerback, but perhaps played his best football when he moved down into the slot late in the year. It was clear he was much more comfortable there than he was at free safety.
Adding a wrench into what should be a fun battle is a shoulder injury for Reed that required offseason surgery. He’ll be out at least until training camp, meaning Williams will get a bulk of the reps throughout the offseason program, putting Reed behind the curve.
A full preseason should give him plenty of time to catch up though if he is the best player on the roster at the position.
The prediction
It looks like Williams is the front-runner to grab the starting slot corner job. He was very good last season and hasn’t done anything to relinquish his spot. That could change during the preseason, but for now it’s up to Reed to beat him out, not vice versa.
Normally it might be a more difficult choice for the coaching staff since Reed is a fifth-round pick in his second year, while Williams is heading into his sixth season, with two years left on his deal. The 49ers can get out from under his contract this year for cheap.
However, Reed’s versatility likely means the team can justify keeping both players on the 53-man roster. Reed can do multiple things on special teams, play corner and fit in at safety. There’s a chance the team elects to move him to safety right away depending on how that group is performing prior to his return.
The entire group of corners should have a tremendous competition for roster spots and depth chart position, but the slot corner job has its own mano-a-mano battle that could produce a Pro Bowl-quality starter.
