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Will 49ers CB Deommodore Lenoir be a Pro Bowler this Season?

The 49ers would be smart to extend Lenoir's contract before the season starts.

Grant Cohn

Nov 19, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (2) before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (2) before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
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The most overlooked player on the 49ers is cornerback Deommodore Lenoir.

No one ever mentions him when talking about the best players on the 49ers defense, but that could change this year if he continues to improve. He's only 24 years old, but in the past two seasons, Lenoir has given up just two touchdown catches in 30 starts. So he quietly does his job at a high level.

Don't be surprised if the praise for Lenoir becomes much louder this year. Because he's entering a contract season, which means he'll be a free agent at the end of it. He needs to play his best to maximize his payday. And we probably haven't seen his best yet. And that's intriguing because last season he was excellent.

In 2023, Lenoir gave up a passer rating of 75.2 when targeted. Plus he broke up 10 passes and intercepted 3. He became a legitimate playmaker as well as a top-level no. 2 cornerback who can play outside and in the slot. He's the most versatile player on the defense, which makes him a tremendous asset to the team.

If he continues to improve and this year he breaks up 15 passes and intercepts four or five, there's a good chance he'll go to his first Pro Bowl and price himself right out of town. The 49ers don't have much cap space to work with in the future because they have to extend Brock Purdy's contract.

The 49ers would be smart to extend Lenoir's contract before the season starts.

Why wait?

Published
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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