Juiciest training camp battle for each NFL team
By Brad Weiss
San Francisco 49ers: K’Wuan Williams vs. D.J. Reed
Last season, the San Francisco 49ers were one of the worst teams in football throughout the first 11 games. At the trade deadline, general manager John Lynch swung a deal with the New England Patriots to bring in Jimmy Garoppolo to be their quarterback, and it turned out to be a stroke of genius by the 49ers.
The team worked Jimmy G in slow, but when he finally got under center, he showed why he was such a coveted player behind Tom Brady. As the starter, Garoppolo won all five of his starts, turning the 1-10 49ers into the 6-10 49ers, and establishing the organization as a place to play in 2018.
This offseason, the Seattle Seahawks released cornerback Richard Sherman, who has been the leader of their Legion of Boom defense for years. Sherman decided to sign with division rival San Francisco, and cited the fact that the 49ers have Garoppolo as their quarterback as the reason why he came to the Bay Area for the next step in his career.
With Sherman in place, and Ahkello Witherspoon locked in at the other starting cornerback spot, the nickel position is up for grabs. Two men will likely be battling it out for that third cornerback role, and that will be K’Wuan Williams and D.J. Reed, who the team drafted with their fifth round pick in April.
Williams is penciled in as the starter right now, but Reed has the talent to pass him on the depth chart. San Francisco also signed Tarvarus McFadden from Florida State this offseason, so there is plenty of bodies to fight for this very important role on a 49ers defense that should be much improved over last season.