Third-year cornerback Renardo Green has had ups and downs in his first two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. His rookie season made the 49ers organization and fan base filled with optimism about the future of the position. The duo of Deommodore Lenoir and Green is a good pairing for the 49ers and their future. So what happened in 2025 with Green? Namely, did he have as bad a season as people believe?
Yes and no. The lapses in attention to detail got Kyle Shanahan’s attention, which led to more
than one situation where the former Florida State cornerback got an earful from the 49ers head coach. A closer look at the numbers in coverage, and there is an argument to be made that Green was better than his rookie season.
2024 (389 coverage snaps): 70 targets, 44 receptions allowed (62.9%), 493 yards, 74.3 coverage grade, 11.2 yards per catch, 164 YAC, and three touchdowns allowed.
2025 (557 coverage snaps): 71 targets, 37 receptions allowed (52.1%), 445 yards, 54.2 coverage grade, 12.0 yards per catch, 109 YAC, and two touchdowns allowed.
Now, the first thing that jumps out is the drop in receptions allowed, yards allowed, YAC, and coverage grade. It’s hard to quantify PFF’s thought process and grading system, but the numbers aren’t nearly as bad as people believe Green allowed in 2025. Another improvement was Green’s tackling. The cornerback cut his missed tackles in half from eight to four with 13 more tackles and a missed tackle rate of 5.7%. His tackling grade jumped from 59.7 to 75.8 in 2025. Green also logged 13 defensive stops to 11 in his rookie season.
A concerning number is the zero interceptions, but Green’s NFL rating when targeted dropped from 92.1 to 81. While his PBU count dropped from nine to seven, the number of penalties on Green has to be cut down. Six is too many penalties. Much of Green’s sophomore season was chalked up to not being a fit or being utilized properly by Robert Saleh, but there is no doubt Green needs to pay attention to the finer details.
Under Raheem Morris, you can expect Green to be in man coverage more, but an improved pass rush will only stand to benefit the entire secondary, not just Green. This is a make-or-break season of sorts for Green in year three. Morris has a reputation for getting the most out of his secondary as a defensive coordinator. It stands to reason that Green will be the main beneficiary and make a third-year jump.
