Tag: Deommodore Lenoir

49ers’ CBs have become most underrated part of roster

The 49ers’ pass rush has been the story of their defense recently, but now their CBs are underrated.

Picking a specific player as the “most underrated” on the 49ers isn’t an easy exercise. For one, defining “underrated” is nigh impossible leaving everybody’s selections to come from a different standard. There’s an interesting theme in recent selections of the 49ers’ most underrated player from a couple of different national outlets: San Francisco’s cornerbacks room needs to get more shine.

Pro Football Focus made a list of the most underrated player on each NFL team and chose CB Deommodore Lenoir for the 49ers. Touchdown Wire made their own most underrated list and put down CB Charvarius Ward.

It’s clear that while so much of the focus has (rightly) been on the 49ers’ pass rush since their string of deep playoff runs began in 2019, their secondary has now improved significantly and is worth discussing as one of the strengths of San Francisco’s defense instead of a weakness.

While Ward received recognition for his 2023 campaign with a Second-Team All-Pro nod, not many non-49ers fans would likely consider him one of their best players. He very much was a season ago though and allowed the 49ers’ defense to continue thriving despite their pass rush dealing with some inconsistencies. Ward received his best-ever overall grade from PFF last season and allowed a paltry 63.7 passer rating when targeted. He was one of the NFL’s best CBs without question.

Then there was Lenoir who came on strong at the end of 2022 and carried into 2023 where he posted his career-best overall PFF grade while splitting time between outside and in the slot. He also had a career-high six pass breakups to go along with his three interceptions.

A quality one-two punch at CB is not something every team has. And while figuring out the third CB spot will be paramount for San Francisco in training camp, it’s clear at this point they at least have a pair of Pro Bowl caliber corners. If their pass rush rekindles its dominance in 2024 we might see Ward and Lenoir put up numbers that get them out of the realm of the underrated.

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TD Wire: 49ers have 2 of NFL’s top 10 press cornerbacks

Press coverage is the 49ers’ bag now, and they have two of the NFL’s best press corners:

The 49ers are a defense constructed to dominate up front. Their MO since John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan arrived has been to build a ferocious pass rush that disrupts quarterbacks and makes life easier on the secondary. In that instance the bar for cornerback play was lowered. However, in the last couple years the 49ers have seen an ascension from their CBs that has their secondary in a spot to be extremely effective in 2024. In fact, two of their CBs ranked in the top 10 in Touchdown Wire’s rankings of the best press cornerbacks in football.

Charvarius Ward was No. 8 on TD Wire’s list. Deommodore Lenoir landed at No. 9 on the list following his best season as a pro.

Author Doug Farrar had some impressive numbers for Ward in press:

Last season for the NFC champs, Ward was in press on 231 of his 1,172 snaps, ranking 10th in the NFL. And when targeted in press, Ward allowed 14 catches on 34 reps for 6.0 yards per reception, three explosive plays, one touchdown, and two interceptions.

Like all the NFL’s best press cornerbacks, Ward combines physical dominance at the line of scrimmage with excellent transition skills, and the ability to stay in a receiver’s hip pocket throughout the play.

Ward used his press skills to notch his first All-Pro nod after last season while leading the 49ers with five interceptions and leading the NFL with 23 pass breakups.

Lenoir didn’t enter last season as a surefire starter for San Francisco, but his play over the course of the year was evidence of his growth as a versatile inside/outside CB. Via Farrar:

As for Lenoir, he perfectly complemented Ward both outside and in the slot with 257 press reps in his 1,222 snaps. When in press, Lenoir allowed 17 catches on 39 targets for 7.9 yards per catch, four explosive plays, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Like Ward, Lenoir is a bigger cornerback (5-foot-10, 200 pounds) with the transition skills needed to match and carry every kind of receiver.

It’s clear adding quality press coverage CBs is a priority for San Francisco. They signed Ward in 2022 after he led the NFL in press snaps for three consecutive seasons. Press is also something second-round draft pick Renardo Green thrived at in college at Florida State.

Adapting has been something the 49ers have done well on the offensive side, and now it appears they’re shifting their focus on the other side of the ball as well.

Last year San Francisco’s pass rush struggled to consistently get home and impact opposing quarterbacks. If they can improve there in 2024, combined with the amount of press played by 49ers CBs, we could see a significant uptick in takeaways in the secondary and a jump back to the No. 1 defensive spot for San Francisco.[anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media]

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Inside the NFL’s press coverage revolution

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get deep into a new press coverage revolution in today’s NFL.

Over the last few seasons in the NFL, a lot of coaches and executives have tailored their defensive schemes in one specific fashion — an increase in press coverage from their cornerbacks. Not only the old-school aggressive press-man coverage we all know, but also mirror-match press man coverage, where a cornerback trails the receiver through his route as the route is declared.

Why? Because NFL offenses have found all kinds of ways to beat the old Seattle Cover-3 stuff from a decade ago with 3×1 and 2×2 receiver sets, and the route concepts inherent in those deployments. Now, if you’re rolling out that “Country Cover-3,” your defense is going to be in trouble.

There’s also the element of quick game in the league, which has increased in recent years. When the quarterback is throwing out of zero- to three-step drops, there are times when edge defenders simply don’t have time to get to the quarterback before the ball comes out. So, logic dictates that if you can’t disrupt the quarterback in the timing of the down, you need to disrupt the timing of the receivers’ routes, forcing the quarterback to delay his reads and throws, and giving those pass-rushers that extra split millisecond to get home.

In this week’s edition of “The Xs and Os,” Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, investigate the NFL’s changes in press coverage, and the players who do it the best, including...

  • L’Jarius Sneed of the Titans;
  • A.J. Terrell of the Falcons;
  • Martin Emerson Jr. of the Browns;
  • Patrick Surtain Jr. of the Broncos;
  • Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner of the Jets; and
  • Joey Porter Jr. of the Steelers.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell” right here:

You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Brock Purdy gets a raise from NFL in front of eventual raise from 49ers

Two #49ers added some money for vastly outperforming their contracts.

The NFL on Monday announced its performance-based payouts for the 2023 season. These payouts add some money for players on rookie contracts who dramatically outperform the money that comes on their rookie deal. 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir were both among the top 25 performance-based pay recipients for last season.

Lenoir landed with the 14th-highest performance-based pay bump for last season. The 49ers’ starting nickel CB added $790,744 after a terrific third season where he started all 17 games and posted a career-high three interceptions. His contract as a fifth-round pick in 2020 paid him a $940,000 base salary this year.

Purdy, the final pick of the 2022 draft, was a Pro Bowler and top-five MVP finalist. He earned an additional $738,916 for his tremendous second season. That number nearly matches his $870,000 base salary from last year.

This won’t be the last time Purdy receives a substantial uptick in pay for his performance, but it’s more likely the next one will come from the 49ers. He could certainly receive performance-based pay from the NFL after the 2024 campaign since his rookie deal will earn him just $985,000 in base salary again next season. However, after next season Purdy will also be eligible for a contract extension with San Francisco.

Assuming he continues playing at a high level in the 49ers’ offense, his pay bump will make the small added funds from the NFL seem paltry.

It’s unclear exactly what kind of deal Purdy will be looking for, and it’s unclear what the 49ers will be willing to pay him based on what the roster will look like once they have a sizable QB deal on the books. It’s not likely the deal is going to be something exceedingly affordable. Even if he’s simply looking for top-10 QB money the 49ers would be looking at a deal in the range of $40 million per year, commensurate with the deals signed by Rams QB Matthew Stafford, Cowboys QB Dak Prescott and Giants QB Daniel Jones. They’re all tied for the 10th-highest average annual value among QBs.

Should Purdy take a leap in his second full season as a starter where he has a full offseason that isn’t hindered by recovery from major elbow surgery, then that contract could wind up sailing in even north of that Stafford-Jones-Prescott trio. If at that point he continues out-performing his deal, then the 49ers will be in a great spot to continue contending for a long time.

WATCH: Former Duck Deommodore Lenoir forces critical fumble in Super Bowl LVIII

Former Oregon Ducks cornerback Deommodore Lenoir forced a massive fumble against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.

Oregon Duck fans certainly had a team that they could pull for in the Super Bowl on Sunday between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, with former Ducks Deommodore Lenoir and Arik Armstead lining up for the 49ers on defense.

Lenoir had a massive impact in the game early on, forcing a critical fumble in the second quarter of the game right after Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs entered the redzone and got into scoring territory.

Chiefs RB Isaiah Pacheco took a run to the left side, and Lenoir ended up ripping the ball out of his hands and forcing the turnover with the 49ers up 3-0 in a low-scoring game.

Here’s a look at the play, and how Duck fans reacted online:

A pair of former Oregon Ducks are headed to the Super Bowl

A pair of former Oregon Ducks, Arik Armstead and Deommodore Lenoir, are headed to the Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers.

Conference Championship weekend has come to a close, and with the Super Bowl matchup now set between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, we know for certain that a pair of former Oregon Duck legends will be playing in the big game with a chance to earn a Super Bowl ring.

Both San Francisco defensive end Arik Armstead and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir will represent the 49ers in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks after a pair of incredible seasons with their team. On Sunday night, the 49ers beat the Detroit Lions — and former Oregon legend Penei Sewell — in dramatic comeback fashion, coming back from 17 points down in the first half.

Another Duck, offensive tackle Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, had a chance to get to the Super Bowl on Sunday with the Baltimore Ravens, but they ended up losing to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

The Super Bowl will be played on February 11th in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium.

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49ers CB calls Odell Beckham Jr. a ‘diva’ following Baltimore’s win over San Francisco

A 49ers cornerback called a Ravens wide receiver a “diva” following Baltimore’s win over San Francisco in Week 16

The Baltimore Ravens dismantled the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16, moving their record to 12-3 on the 2023 season. In the process, they established themselves as the best team in the NFL, dominating from start to finish.

After the game, 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir took to social media to express his frustrations with Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., whom he called a diva.

It’s unclear where Lenoir’s opinion came from, but his comment drew the ire of many Baltimore fans.

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49ers CBs shine again in new roles vs. Buccaneers

The #49ers change in the secondary worked for the 2nd consecutive week.

The 49ers, at least for now, have figured out their cornerback situation. For the second consecutive game Sunday vs. the Buccaneers their defense looked like one of the league’s top units. Their turnaround after the bye week has coincided with Ambry Thomas’ insertion into the starting lineup as an outside cornerback with Deommodore Lenoir moving down into the slot.

Thomas was very good again Sunday against Tampa Bay, allowing three catches for 16 yards on five targets. He did allow a touchdown to WR Mike Evans, but Evans is an exceedingly tough cover in the confines of the deep red zone. Beyond that small hiccup Thomas was good for the second consecutive week.

Down in the slot Lenoir was also terrific. After an up-and-down game vs. Jacksonville, Lenoir held Tampa Bay’s receivers to two catches and 14 yards on three targets per Pro Football Focus. He also tallied a pass breakup vs. Evans on the first snap of the game.

For his part, Isaiah Oliver played one snap when Charvarius Ward got hurt in the fourth quarter. Oliver got home on a blitz and was credited for a pressure and a QB hit on a fourth-down incompletion that was broken up by rookie safety Ji’Ayir Brown. For now though it appears Oliver’s role will be limited to backup duty as long as Thomas and Lenoir keep playing at a high level.

San Francisco’s pass rush is going to be the tip of the team’s defensive spear, but that pass rush is reliant on at least average coverage in the back end. If Thomas, Lenoir and Ward continue playing well at the corner spots, the 49ers might have the NFL’s best defense heading into January.

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49ers change at CB helped spark defensive turnaround vs. Jaguars

The lineup tweak that helped spark the #49ers blowout of the Jaguars:

The 49ers defense looked more like itself in a Sunday romp over the Jaguars, but it looked more like itself thanks in part to looking a little different.

It turns out Steve Wilks’ move to the sideline wasn’t the only change for San Francisco over the bye week. They also made a change in the secondary with cornerback Deommodore Lenoir moving into the slot and CB Ambry Thomas taking over at outside CB. That pushed CB Isaiah Oliver to the bench.

Thomas played 46 of the team’s 57 defensive snaps. Ward played 54, and Lenoir played 53. Oliver was relegated to just three snaps in garbage time.

This is the second time this season the 49ers have made a tweak in the makeup of their cornerback group. It started with a timeshare between Thomas and Oliver as the third CB. That changed when Thomas struggled in Week 2, prompting the coaching staff to move Lenoir outside and Oliver to the slot full time.

Oliver struggled during the team’s three-game losing skid though. In that stretch of games he allowed 15 receptions on 15 targets for 127 yards and two touchdowns while only notching one pass breakup. He also missed three tackles – a huge issue for San Francisco during that losing streak.

It appears the change helped.

The 49ers were better in coverage against the Jags and it helped give the defensive front time to notch five sacks and 10 quarterback hits. Thomas helped hold Jaguars star receiver Calvin Ridley to two catches for 20 yards on three targets. He also forced a fumble by Jags WR Christian Kirk deep in the red zone that ultimately helped San Francisco seal their Week 10 victory late in the third quarter.

Finding the best three cornerbacks has been a journey for the 49ers’ coaching staff, but their ability to adapt as needed has been key to the team’s 6-3 start, and Sunday’s change might have been the biggest key in sparking a 34-3 blowout win.

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Watch: Deommodore Lenoir comes up with huge INT for 49ers

HUGE INT from Deommodore Lenoir puts the #49ers offense in business.

The 49ers offense couldn’t get rolling against the Browns in the second half, but they got a huge lift from their defense. Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir had tight coverage down the field and intercepted a throw from Browns QB PJ Walker. His return set the 49ers offense up at the Browns’ 8.

It felt inevitable that Walker was going to throw another interception. The 49ers were close a couple times, and Lenoir finally got one.