The San Francisco 49ers’ defense didn’t have a great performance in the team’s 26-15 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday, as they couldn’t contain quarterback C.J. Stroud, who had his best game of the year.
Still, they’ve been one of the NFL’s best defenses this year, ranking inside the top 10 in points per game. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has been the leader of the charge, working with a group that has lost stars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, and is starting several first and second-year players at key positions.
San Francisco’s pass rush has struggled this year, especially without Bosa, but they’ve still managed to be a quality defense. An underrated part of that? Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir.
Lenoir has long been one of the team’s most underrated players, ascending to the No. 1 cornerback role after Charvarius Ward departed in free agency this offseason. It’s always hard to gauge cornerback play, but the NFL’s Next Gen Stats listed him as a top-five shutdown corner in the league.
“Lenoir crafted his “Hyena” nickname to stand out as unique among his NFL peers, but contrary to his moniker, he has quietly dominated receivers with effective play. This season, he has allowed the second-fewest yards per coverage snap (0.5) among cornerbacks with 100+ coverage snaps and has spent the seventh-most time in tight coverage (109.3 seconds). On 10 targets beyond 16 air yards, Lenoir has not allowed a single completion.
“His 11.6% target rate this season is the 12th-lowest among 104 cornerbacks with 100+ coverage snaps, a stark change from 2024, when his 18.4% target rate well exceeded the position average (15.1%). Lenoir frequently played the nickel position that season. However, since the start of 2024, Lenoir has allowed only one touchdown on 124 targets. No other cornerback targeted 120+ times has allowed fewer than four scores in that span, and his 5.6 yards per target is also the fewest among that high-volume group.”
Teams have shied away from Lenoir this season, as seen by his 11.6 percent target rate, shutting down one half of the field in Robert Saleh’s defense. The 5.6 yards per target mark and no completions beyond 16 air yards are especially impressive, as the cornerback doesn’t allow much over the top in man coverage.
Ahead of the season, Lenoir shared that he had lofty goals, including a potential All-Pro selection. Right now, he’s continuing the trend of a cornerback being the 49ers’ most underrated player, being a key cog for the defense this year.
There are four corners ahead of Lenoir on the list: Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain (No. 1), Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (No. 2), Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell (No. 3), and New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (No. 4).
Rounding out the top 10 are Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell (No. 6), Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley (No. 7), New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez (No. 8), Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean (No. 9), and Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Tarheeb Still.
The 49ers rewarded Lenoir with a major five-year, $92 million contract extension last year. So far, that is paying off.
