49ers draft preview: Dare they add yet another safety?
Jimmie Ward joined the 49ers six years ago as their first-round draft pick, and after re-signing last month, general manager John Lynch went so far to say Ward “sets a tone for our defense.”
Safeties certainly can do that for a championship-caliber defense. To be clear, however, the defensive front did that last season for the NFC-champion 49ers.
The 49ers’ safeties do deliver hard hits, just not takeaways or jaw-dropping plays. Yet they seemingly are stocked at that position, with NFL-caliber starters in Ward, Jaquiski Tartt, Tarvarius Moore and Marcell Harris.
The draft could present an opportunity to add quality on top of that quantity.
Tartt, Ward’s former high school teammate, is owed a $4.3 million base salary in his final year under contract, so the 49ers may shoot for his successor.
Here is how the 49ers’ draft looks regarding safeties:
Priority: Medium
First-round option: The 49ers own the Nos. 13 and 31 overall picks, then no others until the fifth round. No safety warrants the 13th spot when the 49ers could use it for more pressing matters at cornerback, wide receiver or defensive and offensive lines.
Cream of the crop: Alabama’s Xavier McKinney might be the only first-round safety. He offers the versatility the 49ers covet in safeties, similar to Ward and Tartt. “I can do anything that you want me to do. And I do it well,” McKinney (6-foot, 201 pounds) said at the combine.
Championship caliber: While LSU’s offense dazzled en route to the national championship, Grant Delpit (6-2, 213) is better for facing it in practice. “This year I played more free safety because that’s what the team needed, so I played a lot of percent of my snaps in the middle of the field,” Delpit said at the combine. “But watch my sophomore tape, freshman tape, I played all over the box. So I think I can do it all.”
Legacy pick: Antone Winfield Jr. is just 5-foot-9 but his 203-pound frame and 4.45-second speed in the 40 help him make plays reminiscent of his father, a 1999 first-round pick by the Buffalo Bills who became a three-time Pro Bowl cornerback with the Minnesota Vikings.
Support local: Former Cal and Santa Cruz High overachiever Ashtyn Davis (6-1, 202) has great range and athleticism, just as you’d expect from an All-American hurdler in track. Among his seven career interceptions was one last year against Oregon’s Justin Herbert. “I grew up a Niners fan, so it’d be nice to be close to home and whatnot, but the politically correct answer that you gave me I’ll go wherever, whoever wants me,” Davis said at the combine.
Experience factor: K’von Wallace (5-11, 206) matched Clemson’s record with 53 career games, including a five-tackle performance in the Tigers’ national championship win at Levi’s Stadium last year.