Tag: samuel womack

Watch: Sweet play by CB Samuel Womack sets up another 49ers INT

Watch: Samuel Womack is really good.

49ers rookie cornerback Samuel Womack has been exceptional in the preseason and if he hadn’t already cemented his job as the starting nickel cornerback, he should’ve sealed it Thursday in Houston. After a 49ers turnover, the defense generated a takeaway in the red zone when Womack wrestled a pass away from a Texans receiver. The ensuing tip went right to safety Tarvarius Moore who hauled it in for his first interception of the preseason.

Why did 49ers cut CB Darqueze Dennard despite his 1st-team reps?

Why did the 49ers let go of Darqueze Dennard despite him getting most of the 1st-team nickel reps in camp?

The 49ers’ first batch of roster cuts had one semi-surprising inclusion. Cornerback Darqueze Dennard, who appeared to be the frontrunner for the starting nickel cornerback job, was let go ahead of Tuesday’s cut-down deadline.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday in his post-practice press conference was asked why Dennard was let go. The first-team reps, it turns out, were more a product of his veteran status than his leg up in the running for the starting spot.

“We didn’t think he was going to earn that spot,” Shanahan said. “Whether he is out there with the ones or not, no one really is slotted that way, except for the depth charts we have to give you guys before preseason. So we wanted to give him opportunities, being the vet and with younger guys coming in, but we got to see enough where we felt the younger guys were going to have a chance, so we want to give them some reps. And Dennard’s been awesome for us when he helped last year stepping in, in that game. He was a good player for us this offseason. And we’ll see how these guys do and if doesn’t work out, hopefully someday can come back.”

It wouldn’t be a surprise if the 49ers added Dennard to their practice squad if he’s still available when rosters are trimmed to 53. He originally joined the club ahead of Week 18 last year and wound up playing 21 defensive snaps in that game. He was inactive in two playoff contests, but contributed on special teams in the divisional playoff win in Green Bay.

With Dennard no longer with the club, there was immediate speculation that rookie CB Samuel Womack snagged the job following a two-interception performance in the preseason opener. Shanahan didn’t outright confirm Womack had won the job, but he’s the clear frontrunner.

“Yeah, [CB Samuel] Womack [III],” Shanahan said. “I think everyone saw him during the game and he did a real good job. He’s done a decent job in practice too. We have some safeties who we can mix there also. So there’s still some competition, but yeah, we’ve been happy with how he’s been so far.”

The competition for that starting job isn’t particularly fierce, especially with injuries in the secondary forcing the 49ers to move some pieces around. Dontae Johnson is also out with fractured rib cartilage, which takes one player who might push Womack out of the running.

San Francisco selected Womack in the fifth round in this year’s draft out of Toledo where he was a team captain and team-leader in pass breakups three years in a row. If he can start and play effectively, it’d be another huge Day 3 draft win for the 49ers’ front office.

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Womack, then what? How do the 49ers stack up at slot corner?

The 49ers appear ready to start rookie 5th-round pick Samuel Womack at nickel corner. What if their bet doesn’t pay off? @nicholasmcgee24 explores their options:

One of the biggest questions surrounding the 49ers’ defense going into 2022 surrounded the identity of K’Waun Williams’ replacement at slot corner. One game into the preseason, it looks as if that question has been answered.

The Niners this week surprisingly cut Darqueze Dennard, who had been listed as the team’s starting nickel corner on the unofficial depth chart and got first crack in that role in San Francisco’s exhibition win over the Green Bay Packers.

Dennard’s release seemingly hands the job to rookie fifth-round pick Samuel Womack, who outshone Dennard with two interceptions in an outstanding debut.

But is Womack up to the challenge of starting in a pivotal position on the defense, and what insurance do the 49ers have at nickel should he endure rookie struggles they cannot afford?

There’s plenty of evidence to suggest San Francisco’s confidence in Womack is well-founded, but the 49ers are not out of alternatives at nickel if the gamble on a late-round rookie does not pay off.

Jordan Love’s three interceptions prove that box score scouting is a bad idea

Jordan Love’s three interceptions against the 49ers may have you giving up on the Packers QB. The tape shows that Love was not always at fault.

How often is an interception a quarterback’s fault? Less often than you think. Football Outsiders has a metric called Adjusted Interceptions, which endeavors to assign responsibility for those bad plays to quarterbacks, receivers, defenders, situations, and occasionally, dumb luck. Per FO, there are quarterbacks who have great interception luck, and others who decidedly do not.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love could certainly relate after Friday night’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. The box score tells you that in the Packers’ 28-21 loss, Love completed 13 of 24 passes for 176 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 66.0. Were you to look at that and move on with your day, you may think that Love is a bust, the Packers were insane for moving up to select him in the first round of the 2020 draft, and if anything happens to Aaron Rodgers, the Packers are going to have to go trade for Jimmy Garoppolo or something.

Not so fast. Love’s head coach was not going to assign blame to love for any of those picks.

“Basically two were drops and on the other one we had two receivers run the wrong routes,” Matt LaFleur told the Packers TV Network during the broadcast.

You may think that this is a case of a coach caping for his guy, but the tape tells a very different story.

Love’s first interception came with 13 seconds left in the first quarter. He was trying to get the ball to tight end Tyler Davis, but Davis couldn’t come up with it. Cornerback Marcelino McCrary-Ball came up with the tip-drill pick. You could say that maybe Love put a little too much gas on this throw, and it was high, but this is a catchable pass.

Love’s second interception ended the next drive with 12:21 left in the first half. He was throwing a backside dig to receiver Romeo Doubs, and if you look at the trajectory of the ball, Love actually threw this to a good place — over the head of cornerback Samuel Womack III, and in a place where Doubs has a better shot at the ball than his defender. It just so happened that Doubs lost the battle for the ball after it was caught.

Love’s third interception — and Womack’s second of the day — came with 5:31 left in the first half, and it was the third straight drive in which his pick ended a drive. Here, Love was trying to get the ball to Amari Rodgers over the middle, but Womack did a great job of getting inside position. You could say that Love might have done a better job of adjusting to that… and you might be right. On the other hand, is this one of the “wrong route” examples LaFleur talked about? We also don’t know. Perhaps Rodgers was supposed to do something else if he was covered in this way.

The point here is not to absolve Love of any responsibility for his bad day — if it’s obvious that he was gacking the ball all over the field, we’re going to tell you that. But in this case, it’s clear that Love’s day wasn’t quite as bad as the box score would have you believe.

49ers rookie CB Samuel Womack snags 2nd INT

Watch: 49ers rookie CB Samuel Womack has two (2) interceptions in his pro debut.

Samuel Womack is having a heck of a professional debut. He stole an interception in his first bit of action Friday night vs. the Packers. Then he came up with another one on the Packers’ next series. Two interceptions is a good way for a rookie battling for the starting slot cornerback job to announce his presence.

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49ers rookie CB Samuel Womack comes up with slick INT vs. Packers

Samuel Womack’s 1st pro game. 1st pro interception (after review).

Initially 49ers rookie cornerback Samuel Womack was going to have to live with playing tight coverage on a third-and-5 to bring up a fourth-and-1. Then head coach Kyle Shanahan challenged the play.

Womack came up with the football on an awkward play, but the official ruled Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs had the completion. It was clear on replay Womack wrestled the ball away from his fellow first-year player. The call was overturned and Womack had his first professional INT.

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49ers draft picks DE Drake Jackson, CB Samuel Womack sign rookie deals

Two #49ers draft picks inked rookie deals Thursday.

The 49ers on Thursday inked two of their draft picks to rookie contracts. Defensive end Drake Jackson and cornerback Samuel Womack both signed their four-year deals to officially become members of the 49ers. The rest of their draft class is still unsigned.

Jackson was the No. 61 overall pick out of USC. His contract is worth $5,802,392 with $3,143,212 guaranteed per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Since he wasn’t a first-round pick there’ll be no fifth-year option for the 21-year-old.

San Francisco will lean heavily on Jackson in Year 1 as they aim to bolster their pass rush on the edges. He may have a reserve role early in his career, but he eventually figures to be a three-down player for the 49ers.

Womack, a fifth-round choice out of Toledo, had his deal announced by his agency. No numbers were made available, but Spotrac projects his contract to be worth just north of $3.9 million.

There’ll be plenty of competition for the nickel corner job in camp for the 49ers, and Womack will certainly be in the mix after a successful college career as a walk-on.

The 49ers will wrap up their offseason program in mid-June. Jackson, Womack and the rest of the team’s rookies will get their first real taste of NFL action in late July when training camp begins.

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49ers eye future with CB Samuel Womack pick

Don’t be surprised if new #49ers CB Samuel Womack finds his way into a starting job next year.

The 49ers needed to add some depth to their secondary. They waited until the fifth round where they took Toledo cornerback Samuel Womack. This selection could pay off more in the future than it does in 2022.

Womack didn’t have any Division-I scholarship offers coming out of high school and made Toledo’s football team as a walk-on in 2017. The following year he was awarded a scholarship. The next three years he led the Mid-American Conference in pass breakups and worked his way into a team captaincy.

He may have took take a roundabout route to a starting job in the NFL as well. The 2022 fifth-round pick projects as a nickel cornerback with his 5-9, 189-pound frame and the 49ers will likely use Emmanuel Moseley as their nickel corner in 2022.

Beyond this season though things are uncertain which is where Womack will get a chance to thrive. If he develops in 2022, there’s a strong chance he’s the frontrunner to be the nickelback in 2023 after 2021 fifth-round pick Deommodore Lenoir struggled as a rookie.

Perhaps Womack competes for the job this year, but San Francisco has a roster that allows them to put an eye toward the future with their later draft picks. That’s what this pick appears to be.

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49ers take Toledo CB Samuel Womack with pick 172

The #49ers finally added some secondary help.

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The 49ers got some secondary help with their lone fifth-round pick. They took CB Samuel Womack from Toledo with No. 172 overall.

Womack spent five years in college and played in 41 games. He posted 87 tackles, five interceptions and 39 pass breakups in college. He’s listed at a compact 5-10, 187 pounds and figures to factor more into the secondary beyond the 2022 campaign.

It’d be a win for the 49ers if Womack can contribute on special teams as a rookie while developing into a player that can compete for a starting job at nickel cornerback in 2023.