Deommodore Lenoir, 4 other 49ers who shined vs. Vikings

With the 49ers primarily playing reserves and backups against the Vikings, these five players stood out the most, including Deommodore Lenoir.

The San Francisco 49ers’ second preseason game of the 2022 campaign felt a lot like the NFL’s old fourth preseason game prior to the league switching to the current three-bout format.

Hardly any of the Niners or Minnesota Vikings‘ starters played, and head coach Kyle Shanahan even elected to rest some of his primary backups for what eventually turned into the 17-7 Saturday night exhibition victory for San Francisco.

The 49ers had some issues in the game, yes. Pass protection wasn’t at its best, a number of receivers dropped catchable passes and the Niners had gone 0-of-7 on third-down tries to start the game.

Despite the negatives, there were surely plenty of standouts.

One of them, second-year cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, made his presence felt in a major way, and his bid to make the 53-man roster this season just took a massive leap forward.

No. 1 49ers player who shined vs. Vikings: Deommodore Lenoir

Lenoir’s chances of surviving the cut this year looked grim earlier this offseason, particularly in light of San Francisco inking veteran corner Charvarius Ward, re-signing Jason Verrett and banking on improvement from fellow second-year pro Ambry Thomas.

Yet Thomas, who didn’t suit up because of an injury on Saturday night, has trended in the opposite direction, whereas Lenoir has looked far more comfortable and promising from training camp through Week 2 of the preseason.

Niner Noise predicted a strong outing versus Minnesota could claim Lenoir a roster spot, and it might have.

All Lenoir did was come up with four tackles, three of which were in space and with great technique, and he also managed to record an official pass breakup and should have received a second one, too, both on key third downs.

Even more crucial, perhaps, Lenoir played some nickel after almost exclusively being a boundary corner his rookie year.

Lenoir was arguably the defensive MVP of the game for the 49ers, and he now stands a great shot at making the 53-man roster as a reserve defensive back.