One of the 49ers’ wins this year came in the secondary with the elevated play of second-year CB Deommodore Lenoir.
It looked after Lenoir’s rookie year like the 2021 fifth-round pick from Oregon might struggle to lock down a spot in San Francisco’s secondary. He earned time early in the year after an injury to CB Jason Verrett, but he eventually lost that job to fellow rookie Ambry Thomas. This year he was thrust into action on the outside again after an injury to Emmanuel Moseley, and this time he was equal to the task.
Lenoir played in the slot and outside, played in 17 games, started 13 of them, and started all three playoff games. He posted one interception, five pass breakups, and allowed only one touchdown while allowing an 84.8 passer rating when targeted. In the postseason he allowed passer ratings of 20.8, 39.3 and 39.6 according to Pro Football Focus. He also tallied a pair of INTs in the playoffs.
General manager John Lynch on Tuesday at the NFL combine gushed about Lenoir’s performance in the 2023 season.
“Yeah, one of my favorite things when I was a player and now as a general manager is to watch players have breakthroughs,” Lynch said. “I think this was a breakthrough year for Deommodore. We believed in him as a player coming in. It’s a hard position to play. It’s a hard position to get thrown into a fire. The coolest thing about him, he kind of broke through that and it wasn’t easy. There’s another corner on the other side in Mooney (CB Charvarius) Ward that people really respect, so they were going to go at the other guy. He withstood some adversity where people were coming after him and the only way to put out that fire is to start making plays. And by the end, I wasn’t so sure in some cases that they were throwing it at Mooney, so I think that speaks a lot about the fortitude both mentally and physically of Deommodore. The coolest thing is he’s got some flex where he can play outside and inside, so he gives us a lot of versatility there. We’re really proud of the young man. He’s going to be a big part of us moving forward.”
Lenoir’s breakout 2022 campaign made things much easier for the 49ers this offseason. Had he struggled again, they may be looking for multiple starting-caliber cornerbacks. Instead, his versatility to play either inside or outside gives the team some flexibility in what kind of CB they’re looking for.
Not everything went right for San Francisco this season, but Lenoir’s performance in 2022 could help more things go right in 2023.
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