A year ago, Pro Football Focus viewed the San Francisco 49ers' secondary as one of the best in the entire NFL, ranking it No. 2 entering the 2024 season.
This year, PFF is far removed from being so bullish on the Niners' defensive backfield.
In a recent ranking of all 32 teams' secondaries, San Francisco came in at a lowly 23rd, above only the Arizona Cardinals (No. 26) within the NFC West and a far cry from the second-best spot in the wake of its February 2024 Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
On one hand, it's a brutal drop. On the other, in the wake of the 49ers' 6-11 finish last year, it's probably justified.
Is Pro Football Focus fair to 49ers with latest secondary rankings?
The Niners have some things going for them with regard to their defensive backfield. Two young pieces, second-year pros Renardo Green and Malik Mustapha, appear to be the real deal after impressing for much of 2024. And the return of coordinator Robert Saleh should reinvigorate what was an underachieving and dilapidated defense a season ago.
That said, PFF acknowledged some serious turnover, which included departures of key stars like cornerback Charvarius Ward and safety Talanoa Hufanga, whose roles will be hard to fill in 2025:
"Another unit hampered by missing pieces throughout parts of the season, the 49ers made several changes in hopes of returning to top-10 form. 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."
Upton Stout, the rookie third-round NFL draftee, is expected to assume a key role right out of the gate, occupying nickel duties, which should allow Lenoir to patrol the boundary alongside Green on a full-time basis.
But, Stout is a first-year pro. And young defensive backs frequently struggle adjusting to life at the pro level.
Plus, Mustapha is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered at 2024's conclusion, meaning safety depth and quality is a serious question mark in the wake of Hufanga's free-agent departure to the Denver Broncos last March.
Beyond that, there's no shortage of questions about the cornerback depth behind Lenoir, Green and Stout. It's potentially a major weakness.
Saleh could, in theory, get more from this spot on the defense than PFF anticipates, which is the ideal hope for San Francisco after an offseason rife with change.
However, at least based on what's known so far, PFF feels this portion of the field will be a glaring weakness Saleh and the 49ers will have to overcome in one form or another.
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