The 49ers got a dawg when they selected Florida State cornerback Renardo Green. At least that’s what he repeatedly told 49ers general manager John Lynch when Lynch called to let Green know he’d be taken by San Francisco with the 64th overall pick. That dawg mentality allowed him to be one of the best press-man cornerbacks in college football last season, which made him one of the best defensive scheme fits in this year’s draft according to a list compiled by our buddy Doug Farrar from Touchdown Wire.
None of Green’s traditional measurables jump off the page. He measured in at 6-foot, 186 pounds at the NFL combine and ran a 4.49 in the 40-yard dash. The rest of his athletic testing numbers, save for his 130-inch broad jump (89th percentile per Mock Draftable), are mostly ordinary.
What does jump out is his production both on tape and in a deeper look at his stats. Here’s what Farrar wrote about Green’s numbers during his final season with the Seminoles:
Green, who last season allowed 31 receptions on 60 targets for 290 yards, 103 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, one interception, 13 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 75.0, did his thing in the Seminoles’ press-heavy, man-heavy schemes, which led to some instances in which he got beaten on an island, but also some spectacular plays that showed all of his attributes — particularly a knack for clamping down in more press reps than most NCAA cornerbacks have to deal with. Green allowed just eight catches on 23 targets in press coverage last season, and just 3.5 yards per catch.
The 49ers will still deploy plenty of zone coverage, but having a player like Green who is so adept in man coverage potentially lining up across from Charvarius Ward, another press-man specialist, could give new defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen a slew of options when it comes to having an adaptable game plan.
If Green does turn out to be one of the best scheme fits from this year’s draft it would likely mean an improved 49ers secondary, and with that the potential for an even better defensive unit in 2024.
