One of the better competitions leading into the start of the regular season could be at cornerback, where two recent third-round draft picks and an injury-plagued first-rounder will be going after one starting job.
That’s assuming, of course, that Richard Sherman is already locked in as the starter on the other side.
“I anticipate that,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said this week at the NFL owners meeting in Phoenix.
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Ahkello Witherspoon and Tarvarius Moore, the 49ers’ most recent third-round draft picks, and Jason Verrett are going after the other starting job. Verrett, however, has appeared in just 25 games in the five years since he entered the NFL as a first-round pick of the Chargers. After being plagued by shoulder and knee injuries through the first few seasons of his career, Verrett missed all of last year with a torn Achilles.
He signed a one-year, $3.6 million contract with the 49ers on the second day of free agency.
“Coming out of college and the time he has played in the NFL, he’s played at an extremely high level, so we feel very fortunate to get a player like him,” Shanahan said of Verrett. “Just meeting the guy, you see him on tape and you can tell he’s special. Having him out to the building, going out to dinner with him and stuff, you can tell he’s a special guy too.”
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Verrett is not expected to participate fully in the 49ers’ offseason program, but Shanahan said he believes Verrett will be ready to compete for a job at the beginning of training camp.
Verrett (5-foot-10, 188 pounds) does not fit the prototype for a cornerback in the Seahawks-based defensive scheme. But Shanahan does not believe that places Verrett at an inherent disadvantage.
“I think that gets a little overrated,” Shanahan said of a cornerback's height. “I know we do have Sherm. I know Ahkello’s tall and Tarvarius is, too. They also can run and they can cover. I wouldn’t overrate that stuff.
“The No. 1 thing I look for in a corner is people who can cover people. So you need that in everybody. Verrett has done that. He’s played outside. He’s played inside. He has good man-to-man skills. He can play zone, also. So he fits right into our group. I just hope he’s healthy.”
[RELATED: Richard Sherman gives new 49ers corner Jason Verrett stamp of approval]
Shanahan said he expects the cornerbacks to be able to play on either side -- a must, he said, when the defense is in man coverage or merely to establish depth to account for injuries.
“We want them to be interchangeable,” Shanahan said. “You’re one injury away so you want to mix them all around in both spots.”