New Rookie CBs Add Vital Depth Behind Verrett, Moseley
The San Francisco 49ers heavily addressed their thin cornerback unit through the draft selections of Michigan’s Ambry Thomas (3rd round/No. 102) and Oregon’s Deommodore Lenoir (5th round/No. 172).
Barring a late signing or trade, Thomas and Lenoir should be the front-runners for the first and second outside corners off the bench. Their competition is not as fierce as it would have been last year with Emmanuel Moseley, Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett and Ahkello Witherspoon all vying for two starting roles. In 2021, Verrett and Moseley lead the depth chart, with question marks following.
The rookies will mainly duke it out with veteran Dontae Johnson, who has signed with the 49ers as many times as second baseman Jed Lowrie has with the Oakland A’s, but not produced the same results.
The rest of the outside corner depth consists of Adonis Alexander (11 career defensive snaps), Mark Fields II (26 defensive snaps) and Ken Webster (226 defensive snaps with Miami in 2019, but just 11 with San Francisco in 2020).
Thomas, who opted out of the 2020 season, had 54 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, four interceptions, nine pass deflections and five fumble recoveries in 39 games.
He has excellent speed (4.37 40 time) and was praised in the pre-draft process for his press-man coverage, physicality and ability to quickly “shut feet down and hound the comeback routes.” (via NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein). His most desirable traits for San Francisco, however, might be his kick return ability and his knack for finding the football.
“When that ball's in the air, he has an ability to locate it, which is not as easy to find as you might think for DBs,” general manager John Lynch told the media after the pick. “Ambry has a good skill for being very poised when the ball's in the air. We think he can be a good fit with us. We were really fired up to be able to get him.”
Lenoir has a lot of experience, starting three years on the outside with the Oregon Ducks. He formed a strong secondary in 2018 with Seattle Seahawk Ugo Amadi and 2021 draft picks Jevon Holland and Thomas Graham.
The 5’10" corner has been projected as an outside corner, nickel and safety at the NFL level, which either means he’ll have a tough time sticking to one spot, or will provide key depth across the secondary, similar to Moseley and Tarvarius Moore.
“With Demo [Lenoir], he's not a nickel only, which means that he could play outside or inside,” head coach Kyle Shanahan told the media. “He'll come in here and try to figure that out and learn it, but he's got the skill set to where he has the ability to play either one.”
Lenoir’s most important trait might be his durability. He was a constant in the Oregon secondary, racking up 154 tackles, four TFLs, 27 pass deflections, six interceptions and two forced fumbles in 47 games.
The two rookies are promising man corners, have plenty of zone experience, are solid tacklers and can provide valuable production on special teams (something the 49ers haven’t had since Raheem Mostert became a full-time running back).
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