The 49ers Have Moved Renardo Green from Nickelback to Cornerback

Green is competing with veteran Isaac Yiadom to be the 49ers' third cornerback. Yiadom has missed the past two weeks with an ankle injury.

Mar 1, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Florida State defensive back Renardo Green (DB11) works out during the 2024 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

SANTA CLARA -- Renardo Green played cornerback in college.

So naturally, when the 49ers drafted him in Round 2 this year, they immediately changed his position and moved him to nickelback, an extremely difficult spot to play. Unsurprisingly, Green struggled at times. So recently, the 49ers moved him back to his original position, and as a result, he's playing much better. He might even play cornerback in the 49ers' nickel defense.

“I wanted to give him the harder stuff early, because he hadn’t played in there," said defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen. "It’s always easier, I think, to move back out to what you’re used to, then to try something really new. Then if we did it later, it would have been like, oh my gosh, blow your mind. Where when we gave him the hard stuff early, then he handled it while also playing corner. So now it’s like, let’s get you focused on playing outside and see if it clears your mind. Let you just play. Now he just kind of has to know both. Just like [DB Deommodore Lenoir] Dmo does. We like to challenge our guys and see what they can handle. And when you see that they can handle it, it's awesome. It gives you that flexibility. And he's just a competitive kid that's smart, that wants to do it right.”

"Do you see that it's cleared his mind and allowed him to play a little bit faster on the outside?" I asked.

“Yeah," Sorensen said. "We told him in that block, it was like, ‘We just want you to focus on corner this block.’ So yeah, that's going to free anybody. It's just like when you're learning, you have a linebacker who's just playing one spot. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it's like moving an O-Lineman to a different position. Anytime you do any of that, it's just harder than you think. It may sound not that hard on paper when you just talk about it, but it is. It's a big difference. So yeah, it definitely cleared him out to play faster and it was good to see.”

Green is competing with veteran Isaac Yiadom to be the 49ers' third cornerback. Yiadom has missed the past two weeks with an ankle injury.