Takeaways from San Francisco 49ers dominant win over Cardinals

Deommodore Lenoir is the big defensive concern

Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir is a young, talented cornerback that has definite starting potential in this league. Not bad for a former fifth-round pick that wasn’t even the first corner that the 49ers took in that particular draft class last year.

However with Charvarius Ward routinely erasing half of the field every week, quarterbacks are bound to be looking in Lenoir’s direction. Jarrett Stidham and David Blough aren’t exactly names that belong in the elite category of quarterbacks, but both had success throwing on Lenoir in recent weeks.

Lenoir has a tendency to lose his positioning when the ball is in the air. When A.J. Green scored very early in the game for instance, Lenoir’s coverage actually wasn’t the worst, not a blown assignment by any stretch. But when Blough aired it out, Green was able to take it from over the top because Lenoir didn’t track the ball well enough to make a play.

Now this isn’t to say Lenoir has always played poorly, as a matter of fact his play has been quite strong for the most part as detailed in this tweet:

Those stats being said, it still doesn’t change that Lenoir has been exploited in recent weeks. He’s by no means a lost cause, but he’s still going to be where the opposing offenses focus on in the passing game.

It’s on Lenoir to sharpen up his coverage and take away those big gains. If he can clamp down and go back to his performance in recent weeks, it’ll take away the one weakness the 49ers have on defense.