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Why Renardo Green Will Be the 49ers' Rookie of the Year in 2024

Once Green gets a feel for what he can and can't get away with, I expect he'll be a quality nickelback for the 49ers.

Grant Cohn

Dec 2, 2023; Charlotte, NC, USA; Florida State Seminoles defensive back Renardo Green (8) reacts after breaking up a pass in the third quarter against the Louisville Cardinals at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 2, 2023; Charlotte, NC, USA; Florida State Seminoles defensive back Renardo Green (8) reacts after breaking up a pass in the third quarter against the Louisville Cardinals at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
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Last season, the 49ers' rookie of the year was Ji'Ayir Brown. He became a starter down the stretch and made a huge interception in the Super Bowl.

This season, the 49ers rookie of the year also will be a defensive back -- second-round pick Renardo Green.

Green may not start right away this season -- he'll have to beat out veteran cornerback Isaac Yiadom. And the 49ers coaching staff can be quite conservative when it comes to picking starters. But Yiadom has had an extremely inconsistent career. He played well last season for the Saints, and that was a career first. He struggled big-time before 2024.

Now, he'll be the no. 1 target in the 49ers' secondary. Opposing quarterbacks won't want to test Charvarius Ward or Deommodore Lenoir, which means Yiadom will get lots of action. So if he can't cut it, we'll find out right away.

I expect Yiadom will play his way off the field in the first few games, and then I expect Green will get his opportunity to play. And if OTAs and minicamp are any indication, he'll play well.

Green is extremely competitive and gives up very little separation when he's covering the slot receiver. His biggest issue is that his coverage can be too tight at times and he can commit penalties. But being too aggressive is better than being passive.

Once Green gets a feel for what he can and can't get away with, I expect he'll be a quality nickelback for the 49ers.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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