Getty The 49ers can replace a key starter with this cheap trade.
Passing yards and touchdowns are becoming easy to come by against the San Francisco 49ers. A defense ravaged by injuries is particularly vulnerable on the back end, a weakness that proved fatal in Week 7.
The Niners allowed Patrick Mahomes to throw for three touchdowns and 423 yards during the 44-23 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs. Mahomes’ performance exposed the fatal flaw in the 49ers’ secondary, specifically at cornerback, where a key starter is missing.
One NFL analyst believes the Niners should act fast to fix the problem ahead of the league’s trade deadline on November 1. General manager John Lynch can acquire a good scheme fit for coordinator DeMeco Ryans’ defense for the cheap cost of late-round draft compensation.
49ers Can Acquire CB Help on the Cheap
It will cost the 49ers just two seventh-round picks in 2023 to swing a trade with the Washington Commanders for William Jackson III. That’s according to Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus, who believes “the 49ers have not responded well to the loss of Emmanuel Moseley the past two weeks. Over that span, they’ve allowed 38 catches on 50 targets for 552 yards, five touchdowns and one interception for a 136.4 passer rating.”
Moseley was lost for the season to a torn ACL against the Carolina Panthers in Week 5. The 49ers have lacked a true shutdown corner since, but Renner thinks “Jackson would be a much better fit in the single-high coverage DeMeco Ryans is fond of out in San Francisco.”
Renner’s thought about Jackson being a poor scheme fit in Washington is shared by ESPN’s John Keim: “Jackson has struggled in their zone coverage scheme and would do well by playing for a team that plays not only more man but also more single-high Cover 3 zone, allowing him to play more at the line.
Jackson has struggled since moving to Washington in 2021, but he was once something of a ballhawk with the Cincinnati Bengals. He broke up 14 passes in 2017, 13 a year later and 11 in 2020, while allowing less than 60 percent of passes to be completed against him during his final three seasons in Cincinnati, per Pro Football Reference.
Miscommunication has since become commonplace for Jackson, who often looks unsure about whether to trail his receiver of pass off routes to zone defenders. The second-guessing usually has disastrous results, the way it did against CeeDee Lamb and the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4:
Got him. @_CeeDeeThree
📺: #WASvsDAL on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ t.co/Iz3yIhF6EG
Putting Jackson in a scheme more suited to his natural skills would surely get his career back on track. It would also help solidify what’s become the weakest area of Ryans’ defense.
49ers Can’t Put Off Retooling Secondary
Being too generous against the pass is one of the main reasons the Niners are 3-4. Moseley continues to be missed, while Charvarius Ward is struggling, Jason Verrett remains brittle and Ambry Thomas has been touted for trade by Niners Wire’s Kyle Madson.
Things will get worse if Lynch does nothing to bolster the CB room ahead of the 49ers facing some of the most talented aerial attacks in the league. The Los Angeles Rams are up next, meaning a heavy dose of the Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp connection. Then it’ll be the turn of Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and the Los Angeles Chargers after the 49ers have their bye week.
A matchup with the Arizona Cardinals will follow, and although Kyler Murray has struggled, he’ll improve now DeAndre Hopkin is back at his disposal. The schedule demands the Niners do something about their issues in the defensive backfield.
Jackson offers an intriguing solution for a reasonable price. His base salary for this season is just $5 million, according to Spotrac.com, but Lynch will still have to reshuffle the cap, with only $4,183,093 worth of space.
A bit of reshuffling will be worth the effort, even though Jackson turns 30 soon. That shouldn’t worry Lynch, who hasn’t been shy about trading for veteran help, the way he did with deals for Trent Williams and Christian McCaffrey.