Picking which player from the San Francisco 49ers defense will lead the team in interceptions is as close to playing roulette as it gets. You could put together a strong case for a handful of names, which is why our poll results were as close as they were.
We gave you six options: the starting secondary and Fred Warner. Unsurprisingly, the starting safeties, Malik Mustapha and Ji’Ayir Brown, received the fewest votes. Neither has shown a knack for being a ballhawk in the pros. In fairness, that sentence
would stand for everybody except Warner.
But the majority didn’t vote for Warner. Perhaps it’s due to the lack of opportunities. He’s a linebacker, so that may have caused some reservations. But we’re not talking about your everyday linebacker. Warner is one of the best ever to do it.
The winner of our poll was Upton Stout:
That may say more about Deommodore Lenoir and Renardo Green.
Stout will have no shortage of targets. That’s true for most nickel cornerbacks. I believe he will blitz far more than he did as a rookie, which could cut into Stout’s hypothetical interception total. Stout saw 44 targets as a rookie. He broke up three passes and dropped one of his interception opportunities. Lenoir saw 47 targets, while Renardo had 62.
We thought the pressure from the defensive line would influence some of the voting, but it’s hard to get the subpar safety play from last season out of your mind.
Lenoir is a fan favorite. The “hyena” talks a big game on and off the field. The results from a ball-production standpoint haven’t been there, but he’ll be playing under a former defensive back in Raheem Morris.
By sheer volume, Green makes the most sense. He didn’t log an interception last season, but he did get his hands on 13 passes. If Morris uses Green in more press-man situations, he’s our pick to lead the team in interceptions.
There aren’t any defensive props available on FanDuel Sportsbook, but we have a sneaky suspicion they’d gravitate toward Warner as the favorite.
