It looked like the 49ers might’ve snagged another steal in the fifth round when Samuel Womack, the No. 172 overall selection from Toledo, took over as the starting nickel cornerback after the first preseason game. He wound up relinquishing that role, but he remains a key part of the 49ers’ secondary heading into his second season.
Womack burst onto the scene with a pair of interceptions in his preseason debut against the Packers. He posted another pass breakup in the preseason finale vs. the Texans and finished the exhibition slate with zero receptions allowed on five targets.
Those showings were enough to get him the starting nickel corner job to kick off the regular season. He was up-and-down in his first two starts as expected, but the 49ers opted to remove him in place of second-year CB Deommodore Lenoir. Eventually Lenoir kicked outside because of an injury to Emmanuel Moseley, and FS Jimmie Ward slid into the slot corner vacancy. Womack was relegated to a reserve CB role and special teams.
While typically this kind of demotion would be a significant knock on a player. It doesn’t appear Womack was playing so poorly though that he’s no longer in the team’s plans. In the first two weeks, both starts for Womack, he gave up five catches for 29 yards on seven targets and allowed a 78.8 passer rating.
This puts Womack in an interesting spot going into Year 2. There’s a chance the 49ers bring back Moseley in free agency and re-insert Lenoir in the slot. That would put Womack in a similar spot to this year where he’s a reserve who contributes a lot on special teams.
Lenoir played well on the outside though, so it’s not out of the question the 49ers leave him out there and let Moseley walk. At that point eyes would turn toward Womack to be the nickel corner.
Either way, the 49ers will need another strong season from Womack. If he takes a step forward in any role, he’ll put himself in a position to be a long-term factor in red and gold.
