According to Pro Football Focus, only two of cornerback Deommodore Lenoir's 78 snaps in the San Francisco 49ers' Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs were at the nickel spot. If Lenoir had his way, he would have primarily lined up inside during the NFL title game.
Lenoir tried to persuade then-defensive coordinator Steve Wilks to play him in the slot, a position he believed would better suit the team's needs. Unfortunately, his suggestion wasn't taken, and Lenoir now feels that decision may have contributed to the 49ers' gut-wrenching overtime defeat.
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"I talked to Wilks before the game, and I was just telling him how I was feeling," Lenoir said during an interview on The Richard Sherman Podcast. "I watch a lot of film, so I was just seeing where the ball was going (for the Chiefs), and I was like, 'It's mainly in between the hashes. It's going to the slots.' They don't really got no dominant outside guy, so I was telling him, 'I feel like I should be in the slot this game.'"
Lenoir emphasized that this was the first time he approached Wilks with a game-plan request, but he felt strongly about the potential impact of his proposal. The 49ers' defense struggled to stop the Chiefs as they attacked the middle of the field, where Patrick Mahomes completed 24 of his 26 passes for 256 yards.
"I never questioned a coach, never questioned decisions or nothing," Lenoir continued. "I came to him—that was the only time I came to him, and I said that. But they had [their] philosophy and what they felt worked, what was going to work, and they made that decision, so I was like, 'I'm going to just roll with it. I'm going to just try to do what I can to help us win.'"
While Lenoir played effectively in the game, he remains convinced that he could have made an even bigger impact by playing inside, helping to neutralize the Chiefs' attack in the middle of the field.
Shortly after the defeat, Wilks was fired and eventually replaced by Nick Sorensen. Lenoir hopes the new leadership will be the key to finally helping the 49ers secure the organization's sixth Lombardi Trophy.
"I was telling them, I feel like I should be in the slot this game" 👀
—@Dmo_lenoir tells @RSherman_25 about his talk with former 49ers DC Steve Wilks before the Super Bowl pic.twitter.com/4o51bsA4vB
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) August 15, 2024
