Second and third-year players ready to break out in 2018

Ahkello Witherspoon

I remember putting Witherspoon on my list of late-round sleepers a year ago, but the 49ers decided to pull the trigger in round three already. The physical dimensions are outstanding already, coming in at 6’3” with 33-inch arms.

With 4.45 speed, good ball-tracking ability and a gift for stacking receivers, I really liked him as a press-corner prospect. My concerns with him were the ability to change directions in zone coverage and the disinteresting in defending the run.

Even though I still didn’t like what I saw in off-coverage too much and that he only lined up on the left side, I have a much better feeling after seeing him play the run much tougher. Witherspoon started the final nine games of the season and was on the field for every single snap in six of those.

He fits the Niners’ single-high safety defense perfectly, that leans heavily on cover-one and -three where his he can really make use of his size. With Richard Sherman coming over from Seattle and the addition of the super-rangy Tarvarius Moore at free safety in the draft, I think Witherspoon could have a big year as a number two guy.