SANTA CLARA — The regular season is still five months away so don’t write any of this in stone, but the 49ers’ new defensive system will shuffle some pieces around in the secondary.
Eric Reid and Jimmie Ward both met with reporters on Wednesday. Reid confirmed he’s solely been focusing on the box safety position — the role Kam Chancellor plays in Seattle. For large chunks of his career, Reid has played free safety. He said his new role will require a lot more added responsibility in the run game, but he’s also eager for more opportunities to level hits.
“I’m trying to put on a couple extra pounds, having to be in the box dealing with linemen a little more,” Reid said outside the 49ers’ auditorium. “Other than that, just learning. For me, I like it. It’s being closer to the ball. You’re in on a lot more plays. A lot of times when you’re in the post, quarterbacks see you in the post, so they don’t throw the post. So you’re just backpedaling a lot. So for me, hopefully they’ll be a couple more tackles I can make.”
Ward told us a majority of his snaps during minicamp have come at the single-high safety spot — Earl Thomas’ role in Seattle’s system. Ward played safety in college at Northern Illinois but besides an occasional fill-in snap, he’s exclusively played cornerback with the 49ers. Ward told us he’s still lining up at outside cornerback and nickel. John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have routinely touted his versatility as his strength. No one else in San Francisco’s secondary has as much on their plate as Ward.
“I like all the DB spots,” the easy-going Ward said. “I don’t have one favorite, one specific spot I’d rather play. If it was up to me, I would love to play all three.”
So how does this impact the draft? LSU’s Jamal Adams played the box safety at LSU. That doesn’t necessarily mean he can’t thrive in the single-high safety role, but he didn’t play there much with the Tigers. So that means the 49ers would be training their top draft pick for a new position, or having him directly compete with Reid — a beloved team leader in his contract year. If Adams does learn the new position, it would free up Ward to return to outside cornerback alongside second-year pro Rashard Robinson.
If they don’t draft Adams, Ohio State’s Malik Hooker or another cornerback in a first-round trade-down, the 49ers will still have a hole in the secondary. If Ward plays single-high safety, that leaves the starting cornerback spot next to Rashard Robinson completely vacant. Newly signed K’Waun Williams is a nickel back, as is last year’s draft pick Will Redmond. That leaves Dontae Johnson and Keith Reaser competing for the other starting spot.
To me, the defensive line is more of a complete unit than the secondary. You never draft for immediate need, but if it’s a tiebreaker between Solomon Thomas or LSU’s Adams, it’s the defensive backfield who will need the additional boost.
Hey, there’s always the second and third round. Let’s just get the draft underway.
