The 49ers are widely expected to target the trenches in the 2025 NFL Draft, but there is some wisdom to the idea of building on the strength they have at cornerback.
The NFL Draft is as much about finding ways to build on strengths as it is about trying to address holes on the roster, while the smartest teams with the best track records in the annual selection meeting are those who have the foresight to anticipate future needs and draft a year ahead so they are well prepared for potential departures.
In the 2024 draft, the 49ers did a decent job of drafting a year ahead. Renardo Green and Malik Mustapha are poised to move into starting roles at cornerback and safety respectively and, though Ricky Pearsall boasts a different skill set to Deebo Samuel, there will be hope that last year’s first-round pick can at least help to fill the void left by the departed former first-team All-Pro.
This year, the conventional wisdom is that the 49ers are likely to be focused on draft picks that can help them immediately on a defensive line that has shed a lot of veteran talent this offseason.
Yet several mock drafts have the 49ers eschewing their obvious need in the trenches to add to a cornerback depth chart that already features an exciting young talent in Green and one of the best and most versatile players at that position in the form of Deommodore Lenoir.
The cornerback in the class most connected with the 49ers and the 11th overall pick is Texas’ Jahdae Barron. While defensive tackle and defensive end both stand as bigger needs for the Niners, there is wisdom to the notion of San Francisco selecting its secondary up for long-term success. Though the 49ers are fans of 2023 fifth-round pick Darrell Luter Jr, their options behind Green and Lenoir are not plentiful, with recently signed former Seattle Seahawk Tre Brown likely the favorite to be their third corner in 2025.
Barron ticks most of the boxes for what the 49ers are looking for in their defensive backfield. In coverage, he offers man and zone flexibility, playing with impressive eyes to the ball in zone while displaying excellent composure in man, in which his stop-start quickness, fluid hips and usage of his hands to stay in phase downfield aid him significantly.
Blessed with superb ball skills, Barron does a consistently superb job of driving on the ball to recover separation and make plays at the catch point. He has the ability to elevate and compete for the ball at its highest point, with his prowess in that regard reflected by him racking up 11 pass breakups and five interceptions in a 2024 season that saw him win the Jim Thorpe Award for the best defensive back in the country.
A forceful and reliable open-field hitter — with his abilities in that area encapsulated by this hit on Cam Skattebo — the 49ers do not need to have any concerns about Barron meeting their non-negotiable of contributing in run defense, but the most intriguing aspect of a potential fit between Barron and San Francisco is his versatility.
Barron played 679 snaps in the outside corner role last season, per Pro Football Focus, but he also played 122 in the slot and 142 in the box and has displayed the ability to play the deep middle as a free safety.
Wearing so many hats at the pro level is a different challenge entirely to doing that in college, but the comfort Barron consistently displayed in communicating before the snap and adjusting his and his teammates’ assignments in response to pre-snap movement is a positive sign that he is someone on whom the 49ers can rely to handle a lot of responsibilities right off the bat as a rookie.
Used as a blitzer from the slot and the box and perfectly at home playing the hook-curl area in coverage, what Barron would give the 49ers is a potentially crucial element of disguise, creating more possible opportunities for San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to confuse opposing quarterbacks with different looks.
Lenoir has solidified the slot as a home, but Barron’s capability to play inside and out gives the 49ers more scope for rotation in that spot, enabling them to potentially play the matchups a little more. On top of that, his familiarity with the safety position could be useful in freeing up Mustapha to operate closer to the line of scrimmage more regularly and make an impact rushing the passer and breaking into the backfield against the run.
Selecting Barron is a move that, in short, would give the 49ers more answers to the test in the secondary through his playmaking ability and through the expanded menu his versatility could offer Saleh.
The issue is that, during Saleh’s first spell as defensive coordinator and for most of the Kyle Shanahan-John Lynch era, the solutions have predominantly come from a domineering defensive front.
As the 49ers look to attempt to restore their defense to the glories of Saleh’s first spell and the 2022 season under DeMeco Ryans, an investment in the trenches still feels far more likely than a selection in the defensive backfield. Still, it would not be an eyebrow-raiser of a pick if the 49ers decide to supercharge their secondary by bringing Barron into the mix.