49ers Burying Deommodore Lenoir in the Depth Chart is Inexcusable
The 49ers have a ton of ongoing issues.
One of them is the way they are going about handling their young talents.
I'm not referring to Trey Lance (this time). I am referring to cornerback Deommodore Lenoir. The rookie out of Oregon flashed in training camp and in the preseason. He even had some sweet moments early in the season filling in for Emmanuel Moseley. Yet, for whatever reason the 49ers see Josh Norman and Dre Kirkpatrick of all people as better options.
Burying Lenoir in the depth chart is inexcusable by the 49ers.
When it comes to Norman, I would suspect that there was a promise made to him that he would be the starter. That he would only sign with the 49ers if they made that guarantee to him. It is not uncommon for a veteran player to make a request. I am sure Richard Sherman did the same with the Buccaneers when he signed there. Norman is a toss up in coverage, but he is at least a better option than Kirkpatrick.
Having Lenoir under Kirkpatrick is where I draw the line. The guy was a free agent until mid-September when the 49ers came calling. Until that point, no one was really inquiring much about his services. There was a reason Kirkpatrick went this long without finding a roster spot. He is NOT good. He stinks at this point in his career. Even with the Cardinals last season he was average at best, and I am being kind in saying that.
Lenoir should be over Kirkpatrick, and probably Norman. He can actually allow the man-coverage for the 49ers to be stronger because he is more fluid/sticky than those two washed up players. DeMeco Ryans was impressed with how Lenoir has developed during camp and at the start of the season. But I guess Lenoir appears raw to him and other coaches right now.
“Yeah, he still has room to grow,” said Ryans. "Still has room to develop and learn and keep pushing. I think Lenoir, he did some good stuff for us early. He still has to continue to maintain that sense of urgency to go out and compete and be his best every week. And he's still pushing through, still battling. So, I expect him, I expect Ambry to continue to fight, compete, to battle to be better, work on their techniques and everything they need to do throughout the week, so they can have the opportunity to be up and available for the game.”
Lenoir certainly has room to grow. He was never a finished product and still wet behind the ears. But he looked like a capable starter out there when he filled in. It wasn't until he gaffed against the Packers versus Davante Adams, the best receiver in the league, that he suddenly fell out of favor. Now the 49ers do not appear to have any trust and comfortability rolling him out. Why else would they make him a healthy scratch against the Colts?
Simply egregious.
The 49ers are not getting much production out of their draft classes because they favor fresh off the street free agents over their young talents. Elijah Mitchell is the ONLY bright spot right now. It was Lenoir until the Packers game, which can you really even fault him? Lenoir looked like a promising corner, especially with the shakiness of Ambry Thomas.
Now it looks like we won't see Lenoir for the rest of the season.
