The 49ers' Biggest Roster Decision Heading into OTAs

The 49ers will have some intriguing position battles during OTAs and training camp this offseason.

They let go of nine starting players and they don't necessarily have clearcut replacements for any of them. In many cases, rookies will have to beat out veteran backups for starting jobs.

So which roster decision is the biggest one facing the 49ers currently? According to Sports Illustrated, it's figuring out the cornerback situations.

"The Niners lost former All-Pro Charvarius Ward in free agency and didn’t replace him with a proven veteran," writes Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame. "Instead, they signed Tre Brown away from the Seahawks, along with Siran Neal and Dallis Flowers. San Francisco also drafted Upton Stout in the third round. Who ends up getting starter-level snaps and, depending on the back end of the depth chart, could there be a surprise cut?"

It seems that Robert Saleh's plan for the secondary is to move Deommodore Lenoir outside full-time and pair him with second-year cornerback Renardo Green in the base defense. Green was one of the best rookie cornerbacks in the league last season and could become a quality starter.

In the nickel defense, the 49ers spent a third-round pick on Upton Stout hoping that he would be able to be their nickelback. I'm guessing they'll live with some growing pains from him early in the season so they can accelerate his development. Because Stout won't be the only rookie potentially playing lots of snaps for the 49ers next season. As many as six rookies could start on defense alone.