49ers make Oregon CB Deommodore Lenoir a 5th-round draft pick

The San Francisco 49ers selected Oregon cornerback Deommodore Lenoir with the 28th pick (No. 172 overall) in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

This was the draft pick that the Niners received from the New Orleans Saints as part of last year's trade of linebacker Kwon Alexander.

Lenoir registered 35 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble through six games as a senior in 2020, per Sports Reference. He has recorded 158 tackles, four tackles for a loss, 21 passes defensed, six interceptions, and two forced fumbles through his four collegiate seasons.

Lenoir is from Los Angeles, CA. He earned a pre-draft grade of 5.69 from NFL.com, which equates to a "chance to make the end of the roster or practice squad," per the site's 8-point grading scale.

NFL.com projected Lenoir to be a sixth- or seventh-round draft pick.

Below is the NFL.com draft profile bio on Lenoir:

Deommodore Lenoir (pronounced dee-AH-mo-door luh-NOOR) was another top-100 prospect Oregon pulled out of Southern California, something the Ducks seem to do on a regular basis of late. "Dede" was rated the No. 1 "athlete" recruit in the country and earned Los Angeles Times All-Star notice after excelling as an all-purpose offensive threat at Salesian High School. After playing in all 13 games as a backup CB during his true freshman season (25 tackles, 1.5 for loss, one interception, five pass breakups), Lenoir became the full-time starter in 2018 (52 tackles, three interceptions, nine pass break-ups in 13 contests). Pac-12 coaches voted him honorable mention All-Pac-12 in 2019 after he posted 47 stops, 2.5 for loss, an interception and seven pass breakups. Lenoir initially opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19, but returned when the Pac-12 decided to play a fall schedule. He was selected second-team all-conference for his play in seven starts (30 tackles, one interception). -- by Chad Reuter

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, who compares Lenoir to Ugo Amadi, wrote the following about Lenoir within his scouting report:

Compact corner with short arms, but often makes up for it with a high degree of physicality. His tight hips prevent fluid transitions from off-man or mirror-and-match techniques and he lacks the chase speed to make up the necessary ground quickly. His toughness and physicality can be rewarded in bump-and-run and zone coverages where he can bang on receivers in the first 5 yards and bully the catch-point underneath. He needs to improve his eye discipline, as well as his poise when his back is to the football or he'll be flagged time and again. His frame and run-support toughness could have teams eyeing him as a zone nickel, but a move to safety could be in consideration, too.

Drae Harris of The Draft Network wrote the following about Lenoir within his scouting report:

Deommodore Lenoir aligns both outside and inside in the Oregon Ducks' hybrid scheme. He is an adequate athlete with regard to his overall quickness in coverage. In the run game, he is a willing and effective tackler. He doesn't always wrap up, but he gets the runner on the ground efficiently. In the passing game, he demonstrates good hips in coverage. He is smooth and fluid in soft press and usually stays in phase. He is not a good athlete in terms of speed and agility, which makes his margin for error smaller. He's more effective in zone coverage and can use his good instincts to diagnose routes. He does a very good job locating the ball is in the air and has some production.

Pro Football Focus wrote the following about Lenoir:

Lenoir may have three years of starting experience and four years of total playing time for the Ducks, but there's a reason why he failed to receive a Senior Bowl invite while teammate Thomas Graham Jr. did. Lenoir doesn't have the physical profile to stick at outside corner in the NFL; he's not particularly long, nor is he particularly fast. What he is, however, is physical to a fault. He's arguably the best tackling corner in the class and relishes the opportunities. Sadly, we never got to see him in a true safety role, as that's his best spot in the NFL.

Dane Brugler of The Athletic wrote the following about Lenoir:

Only average speed and twitch for the position...late to sniff out routes...gives up too many completions in front of him and can be run off the top of routes...has the bad habit of settling his feet and grabbing at the break point instead of stemming with the receiver...too easily gives up inside position...struggles to locate the football downfield...made plays that were there, but didn't create plays with his anticipation...his ball production declined each of the last three seasons...surrendered nine touchdown catches the last three seasons.

Measurables

Height: 5-11
Weight: 195 lbs.
Arm length: 30.625 inches
Hand length: 9.75 inches

Personal

• Attended Salesian (Los Angeles, CA) HS where he was named to the Los Angeles Times' all-star team as a senior.
• Recorded 52 tackles, an interception, and two forced fumbles as a senior.
• On offense, racked up 663 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, and threw for 595 yards and six touchdowns.
• Born Deommodore Lenoir (10/6/99) in Los Angeles, CA.

Other Notes

• His name is pronounced dee-AH-mo-door, luh-NOOR.
• Nickname is 'Demo.'
• Comes from a large family, as he is the ninth child of 12.
• Grew up in a hard-working family that always stressed education with two working parents. He maintained a 3.5 GPA in high school and is devoted to his religion. He attributes his aspirations to his upbringing and community. "Growing up in South Los Angeles taught me a lot," he said. "It taught me to stay focused in order to be able to go where I want to go, and that's to the NFL. You have to stay in the classroom and do what you're told to do."