Renardo Green sprints his way to pick No. 64 for the 49ers

With the 64th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected cornerback Renardo Green from Florida State. He gives the Niners a much-needed boost at the cornerback position.

After a very surprising move to take wide receiver Ricky Pearsall out of Florida with their first-round pick, the 49ers picked a position group that was maybe a bigger need.

In 2023, although the 49ers were dominant in many statistics, they struggled at defending the pass. They ranked 14th in passing yards allowed per game, and Green will help to fill some deficiencies in the defensive secondary as he had 14 pass breakups for the Seminoles in 2023, which was the most in the ACC.

In pre-draft analysis, Green was said to be an "instinctive corner who mirrors the release, reads the receiver and shadows well in press coverage," according to NFL Draft analyst Steve Muench. Green also "quickly sorts out route combinations, effectively passes off receivers and tracks the ball well in zone looks," as stated by Muench.

College days

As mentioned, Green played his college days at Florida State. During his time with the Seminoles, he put up some great numbers.

In his final season at Florida State, he played in 13 games and would go on to play in 52 games total throughout his career at FSU,

In 2023, he put up an excellent performance against LSU in which the Seminoles would go on to win 45-24. He was tasked with matching up against wide receiver (and top-10 pick) Malik Nabers in that game and did an excellent job defending him. Nabers would be held to under 70 yards receiving in that game.

In 2023, his final year at FSU, Green would be a second-team All-ACC selection.

Draft-day comments

On draft day, many analysts praised the pick by the 49ers. They also praised the ability of Green in coverage.

Former NFL quarterback and current analyst Robert Griffin III praised Green's "disciplined eyes."

What to expect

Green could work his way into a starting role sooner than later, possibly at the nickel corner spot. With the departure of Isaiah Oliver to the Jets, Green could get a chance to compete for the nickel corner spot possibly with Samuel Womack.

There are some question marks with Green's game, though. Although he led the ACC in pass breakups in 2023, in all 52 career games he appeared in for the Seminoles, he only had one interception. So there could be some work to be done with his ball-tracking skills.

Also, as pointed out by Nick Wagoner of ESPN on X (formerly Twitter), there are some downsides to Green's coverage skills. He had 11 penalties in 2023, of which four were for defensive pass interference.

There are definitely some things Green will have to improve upon this offseason if he wants to become an impact player for the 49ers in 2024, but overall there is great upside with this pick.