49ers Were Right to Draft Renardo Green Despite Recent Criticism

Give the 49ers credit.

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Renardo Green has been under fire lately, and his job might be on the line entering his third season with the San Francisco 49ers. Since it is still so close to when he got drafted, it is fresh enough to debate whether he was the right pick for the team there. While he has had some ups and downs, if the 49ers wanted a cornerback in that spot, it is hard to knock the pick. 

Renardo Green was the right pick for the San Francisco 49ers

Green was the ninth outside cornerback taken in the 2024 NFL draft. However, Pro Football Reference has him tied for the sixth-best in Approximate Value. Only one cornerback is currently ahead of Green in AV that was drafted after Green. That was Tarheeb Still, who went in the fifth round with the 137th overall pick. 

First, the two are close enough that it is not a sure thing that Still has been and will be better than Green moving forward. Beyond that, the team cannot be blamed for passing on someone who went outside of the top 130 picks. 

Players that Green has been more productive than so far, despite them being drafted ahead of him, include Ennis Rakestraw, Max Melton, and Nate Wiggins. Wiggins could arguably be ranked ahead of Green depending on what metrics are being used, but it is clear that Green has had a better impact than Rakestraw and Melton. Those two are worse picks. 

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Quinyon Mitchell, Kamari Lassiter, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Mike Sanistrill, and Terrion Arnold are the cornerbacks rated higher than Green that were taken ahead of Green. Sainstrill is arguable, but between Still, Wiggins, Sainstrill, and Green, there are four cornerbacks definitively better than Green, and the rest is debatable. 

Even more interesting is that after Green was taken, an outside cornerback did not get taken until Elijah Jones at 90th overall. There was a 26 pick gap. Jones has 37 career snaps on defense. Khyree Jackson was next at 108th, and he tragically passed away. Decamerion Richardson, T.J. Tampa, and Nehemuah Pritchett were the next three cornerbacks off the board, and their production has been minimal.

Cam Hart went 140th and joins Still as a talented group of young Chargers cornerbacks taken late. Jarvis Brownlees went 146th and has been productive, but plays in the slot primarily. Those are the only cornerbacks taken after Green to get real starting chances. 

Green has not been elite, but he was a solid pick compared to the rest of the cornerback class.