This 49ers player needs to step up to change the defense

This guy has been too quiet.

Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The San Francisco 49ers' defense is lacking playmaking and game-changing threats. Nick Bosa and Fred Warner were supposed to be those players, and they even drafted Mykel Williams to have that type of role as well.

While those players are out, they also paid Deommodore Lenoir with the expectation that he would be bringing that type of impact as well. So far, that has not been the case.

The San Francisco 49ers need more from Deommodore Lenoir

It is not that Lenoir has been bad, but he is not uplifting the defense. Lenoir does have two interceptions, but his five touchdowns allowed doubled his career number through four seasons. Even worse, he has allowed four touchdowns since Week 9. 

Lenoir is allowing 1 yard per snap and a 122.3 passer rating since Week 9. To put that into perspective, he was allowing 0.64 yards per snap and a 76.1 passer rating in the seven weeks prior to that. 

He has already set career highs in both penalties and touchdowns allowed, and six penalties came from Week 5 through 7. So, when you really break it down, Lenoir was not allowing touchdowns or penalties in just the first four weeks of the season. This was when Bosa and Warner were both healthy. 

Since then, he has not been nearly as reliable. That is not what you want to see from the current highest-paid player, who is getting snaps on defense. 

Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

If the 49ers do not see things turn around for Lenoir, they are not going to have a chance on defense. The pass rush can only improve by so much. They may get Tatum Bethune back at linebacker, but overall,l the rest of the personnel is in place.

Some young additions like Renardo Green and Upton Stout can continue to improve, and their ascendence would help Lenoir significantly. Still, at this point, the 49ers do not have enough cornerbacks to rely on, and this is supposed to be one of their positions of strength due to the health and draft assets that are invested into the room. 

The contract questions cannot be raised yet as there is little that the team can do with him, and it is fair to lean to his bigger sample of quality play compared to this one year of more eratic play. Still, the team paid Lenoir, expecting him to step into a leadership role on the field, and that has not happened.