Perhaps no player took a bigger jump in development in 2021 than rookie cornerback Ambry Thomas. With the secondary being one of the 49ers’ biggest areas of need this offseason, Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch will have to decide how much of Thomas’ late-season emergence they can trust. In his latest article for NBC Sports Bay Area, Matt Maiocco wonders if Thomas can avoid the sophomore pitfalls of other 49ers in the Shanahan era.
Inactive and overlooked for much of the year, Thomas was pressed into service late in the season again in Cincinnati and showed flashes of the talent that made him a third-round pick in last April’s draft.