The San Francisco 49ers selected Florida State cornerback Renardo Green with the No. 64 pick in Friday’s second round of the NFL Draft. The selection came after the 49ers traded down one spot with the Kansas City Chiefs, adding a fifth-round pick in the deal while parting with a sixth-rounder.
Green stood out last season with an ACC-best 14 pass breakups and he allowed just one pass play of 20 or more yards — a 22-yarder versus Syracuse. Green has a background as a safety but stood out more as an outside cornerback, which is considered his most natural position.
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Pick No. 64 is the earliest the 49ers have taken a cornerback since selecting Mike Rumph in the first round (No. 27) in 2002.
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‘The Beast’ breakdown
Green ranked No. 133 in Dane Brugler’s Top 300 big board. Here’s what Brugler had to say about him in his annual NFL Draft guide:
“Green is wired right for the position and clamps down in coverage with his awareness and physicality, which consistently allows him to compete for throwing lanes. However, he tends to get overaggressive with his contact at the top of routes (lacks top-tier athletic traits for easy recoveries) and is inconsistent turning to find the football.
“Overall, Green is a polarizing prospect among NFL teams, because he doesn’t have desired size, speed or ball-tracking skills and won’t be a fit for every scheme. But his play personality and ability to quickly find his balance mid-coverage helps him stay connected and will give him a chance to earn a meaningful role in an NFL secondary.”
Nick Baumgardner grades the pick
A five-year player at Florida State who appeared in more than 50 college games, Green is a competitive press corner who plays with great length and physicality both in coverage and against the run. He’s small, however, and might have issues with stronger receivers on the outside or in the box. The tackle board sort of wiped out here, so I don’t mind going cornerback. I do think there were better CB options, though, as Green has one interception in those 52 games and got flagged too often for my taste.
Grade: C+
He is a pure technician…Renardo Green – remember the name@49ers 🤝 @nado2times
🔗: https://t.co/VAEuxJovcm#NoleFamily | #NFLNoles pic.twitter.com/XzKmlrf35a
— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) April 27, 2024
How he fits
The 49ers have a strong pair of starters at cornerback in Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir. But they are looking for a third cornerback who can enter the game in nickel situations, a role that under-achieving Ambry Thomas filled last season.
More than that, neither Ward nor Lenoir is signed beyond this season. Drafting Green — who has been best as an outside cornerback — in the second round is a look ahead to the 2025 season as much as anything.
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Rookie impact
Green has a lot of starting experience at Florida State — encouraging as far as how quickly he can get up to speed with an NFL defense. He’s appeared in 52 games since 2019 with 32 starts.
He noted that he played a lot out of the slot in 2020 and 2021 before moving to the outside the last two seasons. Green said he had a strong report with secondary coach Daniel Bullocks in the run-up to the draft. Having Bullocks’ backing also will allow Green to get on the field more quickly.
Depth-chart impact
Ward and Lenoir clearly are the 49ers’ top two cornerbacks. The next few spots are fuzzy, and the jockeying for position will make for one of the better competitions this offseason. Among the contenders are Thomas, free-agent additions Isaac Yiadom and Rock Ya-Sin, last year’s fifth-round pick, Darrell Luter Jr., and Green.
Lenoir gives the team options because he can play both on the outside and at nickel. If one of the others established himself as a viable outside cornerback, Lenoir likely would play on the outside on base downs and move inside in nickel situations.
They also could have picked …
The second round was where many 49ers observers thought the team would take an offensive tackle. They took long looks at Notre Dame’s Blake Fisher, Washington’s Roger Rosengarten and BYU’s Kingsley Saumataia in the run-up to the draft.
First, the Houston Texans drafted Fisher at pick No. 59. Then the Baltimore Ravens took Rosengarten at Pick No. 62. When that happened, the 49ers and Chiefs swapped picks with the 49ers dropping down one spot to No. 64. The Chiefs then took Saumataia at No. 63.
Others the 49ers could have considered at that spot included Kentucky cornerback Andru Phillips and Oregon defensive lineman Brandon Darlus, both of whom had formal visits with the team.
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Fast evaluation
The 49ers have one of the most loaded rosters in the league, and they are largely using this year’s draft to look ahead to future seasons when the salary camp is more cramped and they may have to say goodbye to established players.
That includes at cornerback. The team is high on 2023 rookie Luter, who has some physical similarities to Ward. Green gives them another young player — one known for feisty play and close coverage — to develop. He could carve out a role as a rookie this season, but the team is truly looking for the youngsters to rise up for 2025.
(Photo: David Jensen / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
