SANTA CLARA, CA - AUGUST 19: Ahkello Witherspoon #41 of the San Francisco 49ers stands on the sidelines during their game against the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium on August 19, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

After a solid rookie year in 2017, San Francisco 49ers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon struggled greatly his second season. Here’s why he bounces back in 2019.

In 2017, it looked as if the San Francisco 49ers found their next starting cornerback, Ahkello Witherspoon, who assumed a starting role in Week 4 that year and never gave it back.

The Niners’ third-round pick from the 2017 NFL Draft came with flaws, namely tackling issues and inadequate performance against the run from his college days at Colorado. Yet he showed improvement in both areas his rookie season, which led many to believe his sophomore pro campaign would be even better.

It wasn’t.

Pro Football Focus ranked Witherspoon the 112th overall cornerback in 2018 with a grade of 44.9 — dead last among all qualifiers last year before landing on injured reserve late in the season. Seemingly every game, Witherspoon would give up at least one big play and was often penalized. His 10 accepted penalties against ranked highest among all San Francisco players, too.

So, why should one expect Witherspoon to bounce back in 2019?

For starters, Witherspoon did show improvement down the stretch before getting hurt. The percentage of catches allowed dropped from frequently being higher than 60 to never being higher than 45 percent after Week 10, per PFF.

Assuming that trend carries over into 2019, Witherspoon and the 49ers should be in better shape. It’s not automatic, of course, yet there are other reasons to assume the two-year pro gets better this year.

One of those would heavily rely on what the Niners do in free agency this offseason. Part of the problem Witherspoon had in 2018 was directly related to the issues San Francisco had behind him at safety.

The 49ers used seven different safeties over the course of the year, which didn’t exactly give Witherspoon adequate time to jell with his secondary partners. Consistency there would help, as would a possible free-agent upgrade at free safety, the Seattle Seahawks’ Earl Thomas, who’ll likely be a top target for San Francisco.

Assuming fellow corner Richard Sherman continues to blanket his side of the field, Witherspoon’s role would be made much easier with a would-be Thomas presence over the top.

The Niners just have to make the move.

They already made one by naming Joe Woods defensive backs coach, replacing Jeff Hafley, who left for a defensive coordinator role at Ohio State. Woods’ 15 years of NFL coaching experience bodes well for Witherspoon, as the coach is known for his fundamentals — an element in which Witherspoon struggled in 2018.

Lastly, it’s always important to note the frequency of which young defensive backs tend to struggle early on.

Such could easily be the case with Witherspoon.

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