49ers NFL Draft: Ranking each rookie by projected 2021 impact

49ers Rookie No. 7: Deommodore Lenoir, Cornerback

Deommodore Lenoir may be the one most at risk of being stashed onto the practice squad for the season.

There’s a path to the roster for Lenoir, as the team will be looking at who provides their depth for the starting trio of Emmanuel Moseley, Jason Verrett and K’Waun Williams in a battle that’ll be wide open.

But Lenoir will run into not only a fellow draftee who was picked ahead of him, but some veterans who returned from last year. While cornerback was not a particular position of strength and required definite upgrades, there are still players who can provide depth and need to be beaten out.

In saying that, though, Lenoir has special teams potential right away and could make the roster on that basis while providing a valuable role as a backup. With Verrett being injury-prone in his career, it’s not impossible we could see Lenoir dressing for games early at the very least.

Add in a shaky depth chart (the main veteran backup corner is Dontae Johnson, make your own conclusions based on that) and Lenoir just needs to be competent on the field to make the cut.

That Lenoir has proven durability when playing for Oregon, and he should be able to stick around on the roster at the absolute minimum.

A lot will depend on camp and preseason games, as is usual for your late draft picks.