A great defense needs an enforcer, someone in the secondary who makes receivers afraid to run over the middle. San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott was an enforcer.
Dashon Goldson and Donte Whitner were enforcers too. They hurt people. They were the 49ers’ starting safeties when they went to the Super Bowl in 2013.
San Francisco eventually replaced Goldson and Whitner with Eric Reid and Antoine Bethea, who are not enforcers. They are coverage specialists.
Bethea is out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. His replacement, rookie safety Jaquiski Tartt, is a vicious tackler who already seems like an upgrade over Bethea.