The San Francisco 49ers’ selection of a cornerback in the first round was popular during mock draft season. After losing Charvarius Ward in free agency, you could understand the argument.

Deommodore Lenoir impressed for the second consecutive season, and the Niners invested in a cornerback in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. So, while you could understand why someone would look at the depth chart and think a CB3 was important, DT1 and EDGE1 took priority.

Lenoir’s extension is valued at up to $89 million. After allowing 14 fewer targets, he earned every penny, seeing his completion percentage drop ten percent and to a career-low 50 percent. The cherry on top is that Lenoir didn’t allow a touchdown, and his yards per target dipped from 7.9 to 5.7. Lenoir was brilliant in 2024. His role might change in 2025 after head coach Kyle Shanahan says the team will test the waters with Lenoir on the perimeter.

How Renardo Green develops during his sophomore season as a pro. The 49ers’ first exposure without Mooney saw Green break up three passes in his direction, intercept one, and allow 2.8 yards per target and ten passes on a short week on the road against a divisional rival.

Not too shabby.

Green broke up two of his five targets in the next game without Ward and allowed only 17 yards. In the second go-round with Seattle, Green gave up 61 yards on seven targets, but 20 of that came on one play. The last game without Ward was against the Packers, where Green was only targeted twice. He broke up one of those passes. On 57 targets, Green only allowed three touchdowns compared to 12 pass breakups.

PFF was impressed enough to name Green as the 49ers breakout candidate in 2025:

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: CB Renardo Green

Green took on a larger role in the latter half of his rookie season, filling in for Charvarius Ward most often, which he’ll now have to do on a permanent basis. Green earned a 74.3 coverage grade and posted a 15.7% forced incompletion rate – both of which were top-20 marks at the position. With no significant competition brought in this offseason to help alleviate the Ward loss on the outside, there is at least some perceived confidence that the 2024 second-rounder can continue his strong play on a full-time basis.

Last week, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was asked whether this roster felt like 2017 with a potential rebuild. Saleh quickly shot that down after mentioning Nick Boa, Fred Warner, Lenoir, and Green.

Cornerback production from year to year is fickle. Green showed everything you could possibly want at the position for a rookie, from excelling in different coverages to being a willing run defender.

Under the tutelage of Saleh, perhaps Green can develop into his Richard Sherman or Sauce Gardner, allowing Lenoir to remain at nickel — a position he’s on the verge of mastering.

That’d take pressure off whoever the veteran or rookie that ends up being CB3. Saleh is intelligent enough to devise a defense to funnel targets toward Green and Lenoir while helping the “other” cornerback with safety help. The ripple effect of Green developing into the 49ers’ breakout player impacts every level of the defense.