Ward is coming off his best season as a pro and will be in a contract year. He could be in line for a major pay raise if he earns a second consecutive All-Pro nod.

There’s a chance Lenoir winds up playing outside if one of the newcomers at CB thrives in the slot. Lenoir was really good as a slot CB last year though and like Ward stands to make a lot of money next offseason if he puts together another good year as the 49ers’ nickel CB.

This is where things get weird because we could conceivably insert any remaining CB here and an argument could be made for them to start. Yiadom signed with San Francisco this offseason and has generally been a special teams contributor in his career. He’s coming off a really nice defensive season though for the Saints and he’ll win the starting gig if he picks up where he left off last year.

The 49ers like their 2023 fifth-round pick. He was mostly a special teams contributor last season and his ability to play there will help him secure a roster spot this offseason. Luter could definitely snag a starting role in Year 2 though if he can stay healthy.

Green’s competitiveness may help catapult him into a starting job in his rookie year. Typically a second-round pick would be penciled in to start, but the 49ers have shown a penchant in the past for letting early draft picks sit a year before pushing them into a more substantial role. The door is wide open for Green though who put together an excellent final college season with Florida State in 2023.

Ya-Sin is kind of an interesting player. The former second-round pick hasn’t really found his footing as a full-time starter in the NFL, but he’s also not been terrible. In five seasons, including three with the Colts who took him in the second round of the 2019 draft, Ya-Sin has 39 starts in 66 games. His production hasn’t been great though and last year he played a career-low 279 defensive snaps for the Ravens. He could certainly make his way up the depth chart with a strong camp. His roster spot is more likely to come as a more quality depth piece than as a starter.

Perhaps Thomas is locked in and retains the starting job he held for most of last season. Alas, he did eventually lose his starting job after struggling in the postseason and the fact he hasn’t made any real headway toward being a permanent starter in three years isn’t a great sign for his chances to make an impact moving forward. A big role is there for the taking, Thomas’ ability to seize it is definitely a question mark though.

It’s concerning that Womack spent so much of last season as a healthy scratch. The 2022 fifth-round pick snagged the starting nickel CB job out of his rookie training camp. He lost that job after two games though and hasn’t been a major piece on the 49ers’ defense since. There’ll be opportunities for him in the slot and outside. He’ll need to overcome whatever it was that limited him to just seven games and three healthy inactives in the playoffs.

Lucas probably belongs higher on the depth chart because he figures to play a ton of special teams like he did with the Lions the last two years. It’s clear San Francisco has prioritized their coverage units this offseason and Lucas has a ton of experience there. He’s a long shot to see a ton of time on defense if he does make the team though.

Hall hasn’t played in an NFL game since the 2022 season, but in 2021 he was a big-time special teams contributor for the Chargers. He and Lucas may be duking it out for a special teams job on the back end of the depth chart.