Focus on 49ers: Secondary returns, but will it be better?

SANTA CLARA - Why did the 49ers bring back the worst secondary in the NFL?

It wasn't just bad in 2018. It was historically bad. The 49ers intercepted only two passes - a new single-season low for an NFL defense. They also gave up 35 touchdown catches (second-most in the NFL), and broke up just 39 pass attempts - by far the fewest in the league.

After such futility, most franchises would scrap their secondary and find new players.

Not the 49ers.

The biggest addition they made to their secondary was veteran cornerback Jason Verrett, who has missed 43 games due to injury the past three seasons. The 49ers signed him to a one-year deal. He might not even make the final roster.

And yet, despite not making any major changes, the 49ers feel confident their secondary will play well next season. Here is their thought process:

1. A new-and-improved pass rush will help the secondary.

The 49ers believe their defensive backs were only part of a bigger issue with their pass defense.

The bigger issue, according to the 49ers, was their pass rush. It produced only 37 sacks last season - tied for eighth fewest in the NFL. The primary edge rushers were Cassius Marsh and Ronald Blair, each of whom finished the season with just 5.5 sacks.

Next season, the 49ers' edge rushers will be Dee Ford and Nick Bosa.

The 49ers traded a 2020 second-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for Ford, then gave him a five-year, $85.5 million contract extension. Big investment. He recorded 13 sacks last season.

The 49ers also spent their first-round pick this year on Bosa, who recorded 17.5 sacks in 29 games at Ohio State. Another big investment.

“Rush and coverage always work together,” Richard Sherman said during OTAs. “The best years I've had in this league, we've had a rush that substantially affected the quarterback on a daily basis. They made him uncomfortable. They didn't allow him to step into his throws, didn't allow him to feel comfortable in the pocket.

“Anytime you have linemen in your face, you never feel you can step through your throws like you want to, the coordinator doesn't feel as comfortable calling the deep-developing routes and the deep shots that guys were able to call last year. It all helps each other.”

2. Richard Sherman will be better than last season.

In 2018, quarterbacks rarely threw in Sherman's direction out of respect for what he used to be: one of the greatest cornerbacks of his generation.

But Sherman was coming off a torn Achilles. He wasn't who he used to be. When quarterbacks threw at him, they had success. Their quarterback rating was 106.6.

“He wasn't healthy,” said 49ers defensive backs coach Joe Woods, whom the team hired this offseason. “It was obvious to me on tape. He was limping, dragging his leg. He's closer to being 100 percent right now compared to where he was at last year. I feel like he'll be more of the Richard Sherman that you guys are used to seeing.”

Meaning quarterbacks may not have as much success targeting Sherman next season when they target him.

“I'm able to move, explode and just get to the spots I want to,” Sherman said. “I can stop when I want to stop. I can go when I want to go. It changes the whole dynamic.”

3. If healthy, Jason Verrett will be an upgrade at cornerback.

Teams targeted Sherman so infrequently last season largely because the 49ers' other cornerback, Ahkello Witherspoon, played worse.

The 49ers may have found an upgrade.

Verrett, 28, used to be a premier corner before he tore his ACL and Achilles. He played college football at Santa Rosa Junior College in 2010, and the Los Angeles Chargers took him in the first round of the 2014 draft out of TCU. In 2015, he played 14 games, intercepted three passes, broke up 12 and went to the Pro Bowl.

“When he's healthy, he has great instincts and movement,” Sherman said. “He has good ball skills. He's just a pest. He's always there. He's close to the ball. Even when the receiver makes the catch, it's a tough, contested catch.

“If he gets back up to speed, he's going to be tough to deal with.”

Verrett tore his ACL during Week 2 of 2016, and had surgery to repair it twice. He missed all but five games in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, he tore his Achilles on the first day of training camp and missed the entire season.

This offseason, Verrett did not participate in OTAs or minicamp with the 49ers, but he says he's on track for training camp.

“The day I get on that football field, they definitely are going to like what they see,” Verrett said.

4. The young defensive backs will play with more discipline.

Sherman and Verrett are the veterans of the secondary. The rest of the players are young defensive backs who were inconsistent and undisciplined last season.

“When you're not winning, you start pressing,” Woods said. “I watched (free safety) Adrian Colbert. Last year, he started pressing, trying to make plays. And that's the worst thing you can do as a secondary player - press to make plays, regardless of the situation. And I think for Colbert and for Witherspoon, that's what they both tried to do, and they put themselves in bad positions.”

The 49ers' previous secondary coach, Jeff Hafley, left the team this offseason to become the defensive coordinator for Ohio State. Hafley did not specialize in teaching technique.

Woods intends to re-emphasize the basics to his young defensive backs this offseason, and Witherspoon expects to benefit from Woods' approach. “When you have the skill and ability that I do, you tend to get away from technique just because you're physically gifted,” Witherspoon said. “This league demands that you're technical at all times, or else you will be exposed.”

5. The 49ers will use more wrinkles on defense.

The 49ers use the Seattle Seahawks' defensive scheme, which can be effective during the regular season. But in the playoffs, the Seahawks' scheme isn't complex enough.

Almost 90% of the time, Seahawks-style defenses use Cover 3 with three deep zone defenders and four underneath zone defenders. Opposing teams know what to expect, and shredded those defenses in the playoffs last season.

The Seahawks, Chargers and Cowboys - three teams that use the same Seattle scheme - each gave up an average of 446 yards when they were eliminated.

To become more complex, every team that runs the Seahawks' defense will add a wrinkle this offseason, something they will use in the regular season and beyond. In the 49ers' case, they will use more Cover 4 - four deep zone defenders and three underneath zone defenders - to try to keep opposing offenses guessing.

“In the past, you'd see the free safety in the middle of the field, and you'd know we're running Cover 3,” Colbert explained. “Now, you don't really know, because we're showing different looks and moving around more than we used to.”

Perhaps this wrinkle is just what the secondary needs to improve. Or maybe it still needs better players. At the very least, it's a promising start.