Many people were surprised the 49ers went the entire 2020 NFL Draft without selecting a defensive back, considering none of Richard Sherman, Jaquiski Tartt, Emmanuel Moseley, Ahkello Witherspoon and K'Waun Williams are signed beyond the upcoming season.
Sherman was not one of those people.
"It's almost like we have the No. 1 pass defense in football or something," Sherman said Wednesday morning on KNBR's "Murph and Mac" show. "Maybe it worked out a little bit for us. I could be crazy but that's what it would seem like to me."
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It wasn't almost. The 49ers did have the top-ranked pass defense in the NFL last season, limiting opponents to an average of 169.2 passing yards per game during the regular season. Certainly, much of that success can be attributed to San Francisco's dominant defensive line, but with any good defense, all phases work together and depend on one another.
The 49ers' secondary held up quite well in 2019, and Sherman believes the defensive backfield will be even better in 2020.
"They trust this group," he explained. "Our chemistry is only getting better. The more you play with a DB group, it's kind of like an O-Line group. The more reps you get together, the more of a feel you get for the entire back seven really, the more you know how guys are going to play with one another. So you know which concepts guys are going to fight a little harder on, or which guys are going to lean back a little harder."
"I think you could've easily said, 'hey, let's go get a corner,'" Sherman continued, "but our room is really strong and would've been stronger with an addition, but I think they believe in the guys we have and that's a testament to those men."
San Francisco 49ers
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San Francisco's actions during the draft would seem to indicate the team has plenty of faith in its incumbent secondary. Now it's up to that group to show why.
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