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PFF: 49ers CB Deommodore Lenoir is the NFL's 23rd-Best Cornerback

The most underrated player on the 49ers is cornerback Deommodore Lenoir.
Grant Cohn|
Sep 9, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (2) waits for the snap against the New York Jets at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images
Sep 9, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (2) waits for the snap against the New York Jets at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The most underrated player on the 49ers is cornerback Deommodore Lenoir.

Of all the 49ers' foundational players, he's one of the few who's still ascending. And he can play two positions equally well -- cornerback and nickelback.

That's why Pro Football Focus ranks him 23rd among NFL cornerbacks entering the 2025 season.

"Lenoir’s first two NFL seasons yielded sub-60.0 PFF coverage grades, but his 2023 season represented a leap in performance to a 74.2 PFF coverage mark and a ninth-ranked PFF advanced coverage grade," writes PFF analyst John Kosko. "His two-year PFF advanced coverage grade ranks ninth among cornerbacks."

Last season, Lenoir gave up a mere 5.7 yards per target, a completion percentage of 50 when targeted and 0 touchdowns. So while he wasn't the most productive cornerback -- he broke up just seven passes -- he still was one of the best cornerbacks.

When Lenoir first started playing, he gave up lots of big plays. But the past two seasons, he has allowed just one touchdown catch in 32 games. Which means he's one of the most consistent and reliable players on the 49ers.

It will be interesting to see how Robert Saleh uses Lenoir this year. In four career seasons, Lenoir already has played for three defensive coordinators -- DeMeco Ryans, Steve Wilks and Nick Sorensen. He seemed to take his biggest leap last season, and he largely credited former assistant head coach Brandon Staley for his improvement.

Early indications suggest that Saleh will keep Lenoir outside this season. We'll see if that's the best way to use him. He was one of the best nickels in the sport last season.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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