San Francisco 49ers: Tarvarius Moore impressing in training camp

San Francisco 49ers safety Tarvarius Moore is beginning to shine in training camp which is good news for a 49ers secondary with plenty of question marks.

The San Francisco 49ers made the questionable call to mostly stand pat with their current secondary in the offseason. And while they added a few pieces to their cornerback depth chart, they essentially ignored the safety position.

2018 holdovers Jaquiski Tartt and Adrian Colbert will return as will the oft-injured Jimmie Ward. But not only was the 49ers safety play lackluster last season, their health was a major concern.

Each of the three safeties mentioned all ended their seasons on the injured reserve with Colbert and Ward each playing only half of the season. Now entering 2019, the competition for the free safety job opposite Tartt is as wide open as it’s ever been.

Ward was surprisingly brought back in the offseason despite five seasons of less-than-stellar, injury-riddled campaigns. However, the 2014 first-rounder is the expected starter entering training camp.

Much of that had to do with the poor play of Colbert last season who assumed the starting free safety job coming out of the preseason. But another injury to Ward — a broken collarbone he has only recently returned from — has once again opened the door for Colbert and others.

And while Ward was out, it wasn’t Colbert who impressed with the increased opportunity. Instead, it was 2018 third-round pick Tarvarius Moore who really shined in Ward’s absence.

The 49ers did little to address their safety deficiencies heading into 2019, but they did opt to move Moore back to his natural position in the defensive backfield.

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Moore excelled while at Southern Miss playing the safety position receiving an 87.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus as compared to his 72.8 grade while at cornerback. Given the 49ers need for safety help it only made sense that the team would move him back to his natural position.

And the reports coming out of training camp seem to indicate that he’s taking the switch pretty well.

San Francisco made the decision to give him some snaps with the first-team recently which indicates that the team clearly sees him as direct competition to Ward and Colbert. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh explained the change by saying the following.

"“Just want a little bit more, not versatility, but making sure guys are getting the looks they need, getting the work that they need to be able to get better. As training camp gets going, we need to figure out who’s going to make this 53-man roster, and giving guys different looks to see if they’re able to do it is very important.”"

Short translation: “He has a chance to win the starting job.”

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Moore has a superb blend of size, speed, and athleticism that made him a highly coveted player in the draft last season. In fact, it was considered a bit of a surprise that he fell as far as he did.

And now with a full-time move back to safety, Moore should be able to make great use of his 4.32 40-yard dash speed. His ball skills which led to five interceptions in his two years at Southern Miss should only help him play a center field style role with the 49ers.

If Colbert underwhelms again, don’t be surprised to see the 49ers give Moore every opportunity to earn the starting job for Week 1. And even though they did re-sign Ward, it’s unlikely that he will have too significant of a hold on the starting role.

And at the same time, counting on him remaining healthy would be foolish.

Expect Moore to be given every chance to become a full-time starter on the 49ers defense and his impressive early showing in training camp could be a sign of greater things to come.