Tag: renardo green 2024 nfl draft

New 49ers CB Renardo Green adds all kinds of spice to San Francisco’s secondary

The 49ers added Florida State CB Renardo Green to their secondary in the second round. Here’s why Green is a dawg… and the perfect fit.

The 49ers’ change in defensive shot-caller from Steve Wilks to Brandon Staley might not be too different from a coverage perspective. Last season, Staley’s Chargers led with Cover-3, followed by Cover-4. Staley ran far more of his preferred Cover-6 than the 49ers did; Wilks was more about Cover-1.

No matter how things change in the secondary, one key addition will be Florida State cornerback Renardo Green, selected by the 49ers with the 64th overall pick in the second round. Green’s potential is important to this defense no matter who’s running it, because outside of Charvarius Ward, it got pretty dicey back there at times. Deommodore Lenior is better in the slot, and both Ambry Thomas and Isaiah Oliver struggled more than anyone would have preferred.

Green, who last season allowed 31 receptions on 60 targets for 290 yards, 103 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, one interception, 13 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 75.0, did his thing in the Seminoles’ press-heavy, man-heavy schemes, which led to some instances in which he got beaten on an island, but also some spectacular plays that showed all of his attributes — particularly a knack for clamping down in more press reps than most NCAA cornerbacks have to deal with. Green allowed just eight catches on 23 targets in press coverage last season, and just 3.5 yards per catch.

If you don’t have time to watch all of Green’s reps from the 2023 season, all you need to study is his game against LSU receiver Malik Nabers — my WR1 in this class, who was selected by the Giants with the sixth overall pick. Green’s line against Nabers? Two catches for 20 yards, and an interception caused by Green eclipsing Nabers down the boundary.

“He’s got a heck of a mentality, Renardo,” general manager John Lynch said. “I mean, that’s the thing we really loved about him. 186 pounds, but he wants to hit you. And everyone correlates, I think interceptions to ball production. We look at it, PBUs, and he had 13 PBUs, one of the tops in the nation last year, had one interception, one forced fumble, really good tackler, plays a tough physical game. He told us 15 times when we called him, you got a dog, you got a dog. And that’s exactly what we thought when we drafted him. He can play man-to-man, he’ll get up, challenge receivers, has done it against some really top-level players and fired up to have him as well.”

When John Lynch is impressed with the amount of pure dog in a defensive back, that’s noteworthy. And fortunately for the 49ers, the tape matches it over and over again. That’s something every defensive coordinator would like, no matter what coverage he’s calling.

2024 NFL Draft: Florida State CB Renardo Green scouting report

Florida State cornerback Renardo Green has every attribute you want in an outside defender… except for ideal size. Where does that put him in the NFL?

A three-star prospect out of Wekiva High School in Apopka, Florida, Renardo Green chose Florida State over Ohio State and had 164 snaps as a true freshman in 2019. Green’s first prominent season was 2021, when he allowed an opponent passer rating of 46.5 on 121 coverage snaps. That put him in line for more opportunities both outside and in the slot (especially outside), and in 2023, he gave up 31 catches on 60 targets for 290 yards, 103 yards after the catch, one interception, three touchdowns, 13 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 75.0.

Green has just about every attribute you want in an outside cornerback except for prototypical size. I will be fascinated to see how his NFL team deploys him.

PLUSES

— Green is a complete pain in the ass when he’s pressed up on the receiver and follows to the boundary on anything vertical; he’ll glue himself to his guy, and he’s very tough to shake. Ask Malik Nabers about that re: the video below.

— Very smart in his transitions in man/match; he’ll move foot-for-foot with the receiver.

— Has a good sense of landmark switches in zone coverage. — Brings some value as a free blitzer in open space.

— Played just 18% of his snaps in the slot last season, but absolutely has the movement skills to deal with choice and option routes inside.

MINUSES

— Size (5′ 11⅞”, 186 pounds) shows up on contested balls downfield; Green had 13 pass breakups last season, but if he can time those better and use what height he does have, there could be more interceptions.

— Savvier receivers at the NFL level might have him in a box to start with their foot feints; Green can be led the wrong way with the right look.

— Not a run defender to any degree; Green will get blocked out pretty easily and his tackling is more gnatty than anything else.

— Physical style could lead to more penalties in the NFL, especially if he keeps face-guarding as much as he does now.

The Seminoles trusted Green to be a boundary corner at his size, and he responded very well for the most part. At the NFL level, I think he’d excel with a team that has multiple coverage concepts demanding that their corners see more of the field. He’s ideally an inside/outside defender with a lot of potential, especially as a press defender who can adjust after the snap.