The 49ers made a somewhat unexpected change to their defense Sunday night. When the nickel package entered the game, it was second-year cornerback Deommodore Lenoir as the extra defensive back instead of rookie Samuel Womack who’s been holding down that spot since the second week of the preseason.
It was a little strange seeing a defensive change given how well that unit played through the first two weeks, but head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday explained the impetus for the move.
“We just liked how he’s been looking,” Shanahan said in a conference all. “We’re always going to try to put the best people out there that we think gives us the best chance to win. And just from the last few weeks and watching him in practice and everything, we felt that was D-Mo and I was real happy with how he played too. I thought he was one of the better guys out there last night.”
The second-year fifth-round pick from Oregon rewarded his coaching staff’s faith with a strong performance. He was consistently around the football, good in coverage and aggressive against the run. Pro Football Focus had Lenoir allowing five receptions for for 32 yards on seven targets.
This is a good spot for the 49ers to be in, and a stark departure from last season when they had a hard time finding starting-caliber cornerbacks. Now they’re in a place where they have two good players on the outside with Charvarius Ward and Emmanuel Moseley, and now they have two nickel options they can feel good about playing. If Jason Verrett comes back healthy San Francisco could quietly have one of the better secondaries in the NFL.
