There haven’t been a lot of silver linings in the 49ers’ rocky 3-3 start to the 2020 season. Two of their wins came against teams that are a combined 1-11 through the first six weeks, and their list of injured players may have more Pro Bowlers on it than their list of available ones. One definite silver lining though has been the play of cornerback Jason Verrett.
Verrett was stellar again in Week 6 against the Rams when he allowed zero receptions on two targets and hauled in his first interception of the season. Sunday night’s outing was his best showing of the year and earned him a sterling 94.0 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
Sunday night wasn’t an aberration though. It was his fourth consecutive strong performance since taking over as a starter in Week 3. He’s played 232 snaps and been targeted just 11 times. On those 11 targets Verrett has surrendered four catches for 24 yards with no touchdowns and a passer rating of 7.0. He’s also tacked on an interception and three pass breakups. The longest reception he’s allowed all year went for 9 yards.
It’s been a remarkable turnaround after his disastrous 49ers debut in 2019 where he was flagged for pass interference then beat for a long touchdown against the Steelers in consecutive plays before exiting with turned out to be a season-ending knee injury.
The injury sidelined him for fourth consecutive season. He missed all of 2018 with an Achilles tear, and played just one game in 2017 because of a knee injury. In 2016 he got four games in before a torn ACL ended his season. This year he’s already played in four games, and his next start will mark only the second time in his career that he’s started more than four games. He played in six as a rookie with four starts due to a shoulder injury, and played in 14 games his second year when he went to the Pro Bowl.
While injuries have defined Verrett’s career since he was drafted No. 25 overall by the Chargers in the 2014 draft, he looks far more like a former first-round selection than he does an oft-injured player who’s played in two games since 2017.
Verrett is going to be a key factor in whether the 49ers overcome their rash of injuries to make some kind of run at the postseason. Their secondary in particular has been beat up, but getting a Pro Bowl-caliber performance from Verrett has been a steadying force that could ultimately buoy the 49ers’ defense while the pass rush struggles without Nick Bosa and Dee Ford.
There’s still a long way to go and some hurdles for Verrett to clear in, but early returns on the cornerback make him one of the NFL’s best stories in the 2020 season.