49ers training camp: 5 fringe players who are improving roster chances

The 49ers don’t have a lot of room for players on the roster bubble, yet these five are certainly making the most out of opportunities in training camp.

The San Francisco 49ers are nearly halfway through their 2022 edition of training camp.

There have been some notable takeaways, too, especially what’s looking to be an excellent defense at all three levels (cornerback Charvarius Ward is the real deal), while the Niners offensive line isn’t exactly looking like a team strength early.

Speaking of early, it is what it is. Some players and units, particularly on offense, frequently start off cold before getting into a rhythm, meaning the second half of camp is going to be awfully telling before San Francisco opens up its preseason campaign at home against the Green Bay Packers on Friday, Aug. 12.

Regardless of the takeaways, the nature of the 49ers’ playoff-caliber roster means there won’t be too many vacancies up for grabs, and players on the roster bubble are going to face an uphill climb if they hope to stick around and onto the 53-man roster for Week 1.

However, these five fringe players have certainly started trending upwards with roughly half of camp left to go.

49ers fringe player No. 5: Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir

After such a frustrating second half of his rookie season in 2021 in which he was benched, Deommodore Lenoir’s chances of hanging around amid a revamped and now-deep cornerback room looked slim, at best.

While most fans were focused on fellow second-year corner Ambry Thomas, who improved over the latter half of last season while Lenoir regressed, it’s actually been the latter who has performed well in camp to date.

Lenoir isn’t going to unseat Ward or fellow defensive back Emmanuel Moseley with the starting group, and the former might even be pushed further down the depth chart if veteran cornerback Jason Verrett is healthy and comes off the physically unable-to-perform list soon.

That said, at least based on the first week-plus of camp, the decision between Thomas and Lenoir should be a simple one.