There are few more difficult gigs in the NFL than playing cornerback as a rookie, and for slot corners, the challenge is even greater.
Nickel corners are tasked with having to defend receivers who can win
with elite quickness and the ‘power slots’ and the F tight ends who are frequently aligned at that spot. Preventing receptions is tougher than playing on the outside as slot receivers more consistently work underneath, while there is a huge burden on slot defenders in terms of run defense.
At times this season, it has looked as if the strain of those responsibilities might be too much for third-round rookie Upton Stout as he endured some significant ups and downs early in his career.
But the 49ers have stood by Stout, buying into the flashes of promise in the early weeks of the season and into his aggressiveness in pursuit in physicality in the run game.
And they have been rewarded for their faith, as Stout progressed substantially over the second half of the regular season before producing an excellent display in the 49ers’ wild-card win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Stout was targeted five times by the Eagles but gave up only two receptions for 23 yards and made a key pass breakup on third down in the first half.
That followed a Week 18 game where Stout conceded just two yards in coverage against the Seattle Seahawks. Not since the Week 11 win over the Arizona Cardinals has Stout conceded 50 or more yards in coverage.
Stout’s second-half surge has given the secondary a greater air of solidity, one that was furthered against the Eagles by the play of fellow rookie Marques Sigle after he stepped in at safety for the injured Ji’Ayir Brown.
And, for defensive coordinator, neither the performance of Stout nor that of Sigle came as a surprise.
He said on Wednesday:
“Coach [assistant head coach defense Gus] Bradley says it all the time that ‘the mother of learning is repetition.’ So, you trust that if they get enough reps, if they keep getting reps and they’re deliberate in their reps and they’re learning from their mistakes, you naturally are going to get better. Now, how fast they get better is you never know. But, it’s not surprising that a guy like Stout has improved throughout the year. He’s banked, I don’t know how many reps, but he’s got all the practice reps, OTAs, training, camp, practices, game reps, and he has been put in some really critical situations throughout the entire season. And he’s getting more and more confident with what he’s being asked to do. He’s recognizing more and more of what offenses are trying to do and he’s learning. So, naturally they’re going to get better. It’s exciting to see. We’ve done it before with young guys and the whole league has always seen the more young guys play, the faster they get. So, it’s exciting to see them, but it’s not surprising.”
Stout’s progress is a reminder that development, especially at a position as difficult as slot corner, is rarely linear.
It’s a position where players need to have the mental strength to handle the inevitable undulations in fortunes, and the likelihood is that there will be more ups and downs for Stout in Year 2.
But right now, Stout looks like a player who will be a cornerstone of the defense for years to come, and one in whom the 49ers will have significant belief to deliver again versus the Seahawks in their Divisional Round matchup on Saturday.
San Francisco’s Week 18 meeting with Seattle was preceded in part by discussion around Deommodore Lenoir shadowing Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Thanks to his upturn during the second half and his outstanding showings across the last two weeks, the 49ers are unlikely to have any trepidation about Stout going man-to-man with Smith-Njigba as they aim to spring the upset at Lumen Field.
