Examining the fit: Tavon Wilson

By Scooter_McG

The 49ers have made some important moves in FA to shore up their secondary, re-signing Moseley, Verrett, Tartt and Williams, all of whom have logged many starts for the team over the past couple of years and currently project to be starters in the secondary next season. They have also brought back an experienced depth piece in Dontae Johnson.

One of the perhaps stranger moves, however, was signing SS Tavon Wilson just before Tartt was re-signed. Initially this looked like it may be someone to compete with Harris and Moore (and potentially a draft pick) for a starting role, but after re-signing Tartt it became clear the 49ers envisage a different role for Wilson.

Wilson is a former second round pick of the Patriots in 2012 out of Illinois. The Patriots liked the versatility he offered, having played all across the secondary in college, which they saw as a perfect fit for their defensive scheme. However, most scouting reports noted Wilson had limited athletic upside and struggled in coverage, and he was widely considered a massive reach at the time (with some draft experts thinking he would be lucky to even be drafted).

Those scouting reports seemed accurate over his four years with the Patriots, as he only made four starts and had limited impact as a defensive back. But despite his failure to crack the Patriots starting line-up, in 2016 the Lions made signing Wilson one of their top priorities, quickly negotiating with and signing him once the legal tampering period opened. Bob Quinn, the Lions GM in 2016, was a former Patriots staffer and he believed there was considerable untapped potential left to be unlocked. Wilson’s four seasons with the Lions were considerably more productive as he started 39 games and was a steady presence at SS for them. He then signed a 1-year deal with the Colts last season, where he primarily was a backup but again provided steady play when called upon.

Throughout Wilson’s career he has also been heavily used on STs cover units.

As a safety Wilson’s best attributes are his versatility, leadership and understanding of his role. While best as an in the box safety, Wilson is also capable as a blitzer, covering TEs or playing deep when needed. And he is a smart, reliable presence in the secondary. But he also has his weaknesses in that he doesn’t have the athletic ability to be a sideline-to-sideline player, and he hasn’t historically had many turnovers, with only 3 INTs and 1 FF in his last seven seasons.

For the 49ers, with Tartt coming back to play SS, Wilson’s role in the secondary will be that of a reliable backup presence the team can count on to fill in and get the job done if needed. Tartt has struggled to stay healthy over the years, and the drop off in play with Tartt out has been noticeable. This is due to a combination of Tartt’s individual talent, as well as his understanding of the defense, reading of play and communication skills to get his teammates on the same page and avoid busts in coverage. This is where Wilson’s value will lie in the secondary – being able to provide that same kind of veteran leadership, knowledge and reliability in the event Tartt misses time. While players like Harris and Moore have shown flashes of talent, consistency and reliability have been noticeably lacking.

Perhaps his more important role, however, may lie on STs. This is something that a few of the recent new additions share in common, with all three of Wilson, Ebukam and Sherfield providing considerable experience as STs coverage players. Expect each of these players to log plenty of snaps on STs in 2021 should they stay on the roster.