The 49ers' Secondary Ranks 23rd in the NFL per Pro Football Focus

The 49ers used to have one of the best secondaries in the NFL.

That was when they had Charvarius Ward, Talanoa Hufanga and Jimmie Ward in addition to Deommodore Lenoir. Now, Hufanga and the two Wards are gone, and their replacements are largely unproven.

That's why Pro Football Focus ranks the 49ers' secondary 23rd out of 32 NFL secondaries.

"Another unit hampered by missing pieces throughout parts of the season, the 49ers made several changes in hopes of returning to top-10 form," writes PFF's John Kosko. "Deommodore Lenoir remains a solid holdover and has graded well over the past two seasons, while 2024 rookie Renardo Green came on strong in the second half of the year. With a few draft additions and free-agent signings, this group will look drastically different in 2025. How quickly the new pieces gel will determine whether the secondary can bounce back."

Kosko didn't even mention that starting strong safety Malik Mustapha is recovering from his second torn ACL and probably won't be ready for the start of the season.

The 49ers currently have more than $45 million in cap space -- you'd think they'd want to sign a cornerback or a safety to sure up this unit. Someone such as Justin Simmons, Rasul Douglas or Asante Samuel Jr. Instead, they seem more interested in rolling over their cap space to 2026.

For this unit to be above average, they need second-year cornerback Renardo Green to take another step forward, third-year safety Ji'Ayir Brown to have a major bounce-back season, and rookie nickelback Upton Stout to make an immediate impact.

Seems like a long shot.