Better know a prospect: 49ers meet with experienced Oregon CB

The San Francisco 49ers and Oregon cornerback prospect Deommodore Lenoir met ahead of the 2021 NFL draft.

The San Francisco 49ers need cornerback help. They’ll likely wind up addressing the position via free agency and the NFL draft as they look to solidify their secondary for the foreseeable future.

One prospect name to know at corner is Deommodore Lenoir, who met virtually with the 49ers according to Draft Wire’s Justin Melo.

Lenoir, an Oregon product, started 34 consecutive games to close out his career with the Ducks. He’s a superb athlete who in his career racked up 111 solo tackles, 27 pass breakups and six interceptions, including at least one in each of his four college seasons.

One of the things that stands out on Lenoir’s film aside from his fluid athleticism is his ability to tackle in space. He moves well in short areas and makes a lot of sure tackles on the edge to help prevent players from turning the corner.

A physical, aggressive corner with good size (5-11, 195 pounds), athleticism and ball skills could quickly carve out a role in a relatively limited 49ers cornerback group. He isn’t likely to go in Round 1 or 2, but he could be a target for San Francisco late in Day 2 or early in Day 3.

8 Pac-Twelve prospects the Eagles should target in 2021 NFL Draft after the conference cancels season

8 Pac-Twelve prospects the Eagles should target in 2021 NFL Draft after the conference cancels season

Following the lead of the Big Ten Conference, Pac Twelve officials have also announced the cancellation of their 2021 football season.

With a star-packed class of prospects now free to decide if they’ll take their talents to the NFL, here are 11 Pac-12 prospects that the Eagles should do their due diligence on and target in the 2021 NFL Draft.

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1. AMON-RA ST. BROWN, WR, USC

Coming from a family of stud football players, St. Brown attended famed Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California.

A five-star recruit, St. Brown committed to the University of Southern California (USC) to play college football with former high school teammate JT Daniels.

The junior wide receiver started 12 of the 13 games last season, catching 77 passes for 1,042 yards and six touchdowns. He was expected to be one of the top wideouts in college football next season.

St. Brown is smooth in pretty much everything he does. He’s a crafty route-runner who’s also sneaky good after the catch. He broke 18 tackles last season.

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49ers add offensive tackle, cornerback in 2-round mock draft

The 49ers got help on the offensive line and in the secondary in the latest Draft Wire 2021 mock draft.

The 49ers won’t be able to get away with another five-player draft class in 2021. Their list of pending free agents is too long and their salary cap space is too short to replicate the continuity they managed between the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Because of that uncertainty, their list of needs in next year’s draft is still up in the air.

The latest Draft Wire 2021 two-round projections have the club shoring up their offensive front and secondary with their first two picks. They select versatile Tennessee OL Cade Mays with the No. 30 pick. Then they use the 62nd overall pick on Oregon cornerback Deommodore Lenoir.

Mays played four of the five offensive line spots for Georgia last season. Eight of his 11 contests came on the interior at right and left guard. San Francisco would likely be using a first-round pick on him to be the long-term answer at right guard after shuffling a few different players through there during head coach Kyle Shanahan’s first four seasons. If they’re needing to replace Trent Williams at left tackle, they’ll likely look for a different avenue than a do-everything OL with more experience inside than at tackle.

There’s a positional value issue for Shanahan though, who hasn’t prioritized guard play in San Francisco. The club acquired left guard Laken Tomlinson for a fifth-round pick, and have plugged various veterans in on the other side. Tomlinson could be released for cheap next offseason, but he’s playing well without a large price tag so the less stable right guard spot is where Mays is more liable to slot in.

It’d probably be good news for the 49ers if their most pressing need was on the interior of the offensive line, because it likely means they’ve retained some higher-quality talent at other spots.

Their second pick addresses a need that’ll almost certainly be at or near the top of their list of holes going into the draft. San Francisco has their top four cornerbacks all due to hit free agency in the offseason. If they put together the NFL’s best pass defense again, it’s going to be exceedingly difficult to keep them all.

Draft Wire’s mock has the 49ers scooping up Deommodore Lenoir from Oregon in what could be a move to fill a starting cornerback spot. Lenoir is listed with decent size at 5-11, 202 pounds. Through three seasons he’s posted five interceptions and 21 pass breakups. He’s good in coverage and a physical tackler behind a compact build. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see his draft stock rise over the next several months, assuming the NCAA season plays out as normal.

Way-too-early 2-round 2021 mock sends Bills WR, CB

Buffalo Bills in Draft Wire’s way-too-early 2021 NFL mock draft.

While we’re still way-too-far away from doing a massive breakdown of the 2021 NFL Draft, our friends at Draft Wire decided to do so anyway.

They went the extra mile, too.

Not only is there a Round 1 mock, there’s two rounds in this one for us to unpack for the Bills. Using the latest Super Bowl odds to peg the draft order, the Bills select playmakers for both sides of the ball.

At No. 19 overall, Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith is picked by Buffalo and then in the second round, then at pick No. 51, Oregon cornerback Deommodore Lenoir is selected.

In Smith, the Bills would add a potential strong complement for Stefon Diggs over the course of the next few seasons. Smith, a 6-foot-1 target, can stand to add size, but he’s a confident player in traffic with good hands. In 2019, Smith had 68 catches for 1,256 yards and 14 touchdowns for Alabama.

While some top stats right there, Smith could shoot up draft boards in 2021 after two of his teammates, Henry Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy, both moved onto the NFL via the 2020 draft. More targets for Smith could be en route.

With Smith, the Bills could eventually be adding a replacement for a few veterans on their roster as well with Cole Beasley and John Brown already over 30 yards old. But interestingly, the Bills did add Gabriel Davis and Isaiah Hodgins at the recent draft, so much of Smith’s potential to the Bills depends on how much those two show as rookies.

In Lenoir, the Bills would add a player that might need to improve his zone coverage skills for Sean McDermott’s defensive scheme, but he’s shown an ability to find the ball during his college career thus far, notching five picks and 21 passes defended in three seasons. He also has solid defensive back size at 5-foot-11.

While the Bills currently have Levi Wallace, Josh Norman and EJ Gaines across from Tre’Davious White, Buffalo might move on from all three by next season.

 

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