Long before training camp, back in March, 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said he was confident one or two good players would emerge from a young pool or cornerbacks for the 2015 season.
Speaking of a group that included Dontae Johnson, Kenneth Acker, Keith Reaser, Marcus Cromartie and Leon McFadden, Baalke said: “Feel good about it, feel real good about it.”
Now, with just one exhibition game remaining – a Thursday night matchup with the Chargers at Levi’s Stadium – and two weeks to go until the team’s first game of the regular season on Monday night, Sept. 14 against the Vikings, it appears that Acker has climbed above the rest. He could be in contention now with veteran Shareece Wright to earn a starting cornerback slot opposite Tramaine Brock.
Acker had a strong game against the Denver Broncos this past weekend, intercepting a pass from Peyton Manning in the end zone to stop one Broncos drive in the second quarter, and then providing good coverage on a third-and-goal pass that was incomplete just before halftime. He had two tackles and two passes defensed.
This summer, Acker has played both slot corner and on the outside, but has performed significantly better on the outside.
In fact, as Grant Cohn of Bleacher Report noted this week, Acker has been graded very well for his overall play this summer by the analytics website Pro Football Focus. Acker has the 11th-best rating of any corner in the NFL this exhibition season at plus 3.2, according to PFF, having allowed just three catches for 27 yards on only seven targets in 92 snaps played.
Last week, when the 49ers had joint practices with the Broncos, Acker took reps with the starting defensive unit and said he benefited from the experience.
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“It was nice to be in there with the ones (first team) and everything, showing that the coaches have confidence in me,” Acker told a writer for the team’s website. “I felt good out there playing.”
Acker, a sixth-round pick from SMU in 2014, missed his entire rookie year because of injury. But now the 6-foot, 190-pounder is trying to make up for lost time and make an impact in the 49ers secondary. He knows what he needs to do: play steady, solid football.
“Consistency,” Acker told 49ers.com. “I need to make sure that I’m on my Ps and Qs and making sure I’m at the right place at the right time so I don’t have a dropoff. That’s the big thing. I can’t just have a good game or a good showing and then go back to old ways. (I have) to make sure everyday that I’m getting better.”
