One of the hardest positions in the NFL to play is cornerback, and rookies have one of the steepest learning curves when they first join the team.
And because the San Francisco 49ers were so confident in their second-round pick that they decided to have him begin his career learning a new position, they decided to up the difficulty level for Renardo Green.
While at Florida State, Green played nearly entirely as an outside cornerback, the 49ers have been transparent about their belief that he possesses the skill set necessary to succeed at the nickel position ever since the selection.
The 49ers have tested that assessment during OTAs and minicamp, using Green at both outside corner and nickel, and they have been thrilled with how he has responded to being thrown into the fire.
Asked about Green’s development in a press conference on Wednesday, 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen said: “I’ve been really happy with Renardo. The cool thing is he’s been doing both nickel and corner and it’s not a lot of time right? It’s a certain amount of practices and hasn’t fully been a nickel. So, he’s really embraced the challenge of it.
“That’s the best part. Like it’s never perfect because now all of a sudden we’re teaching you all these different coverages, but there’s also run fits too and then that changes. And guess what? You can’t like fully trigger and feel the physicality of the line because there’s rules and those guys aren’t playing the same.
“But just with him, it’s just the mentality and the competitiveness that I love. We knew the movement skill was there and you see it in man-to-man stuff and he gets those too. But just like he’s embraced any challenge that’s anything that’s hard I think he’s embraced and he’s kind of attacked it and willingly been like, ‘no man, I want more of that.’ And that’s really been awesome.”
The enthusiasm Green has shown for what is a daunting challenge theoretically puts him in a better position to play regular defensive snaps in year one. San Francisco rotated Deoommodore Lenoir between the outside corner spot and the slot last season, but having another player whom the Niners trust to perform at nickel would lessen the need for them to move him around as much in 2024.
For Green to nail down a role on the defense this season, his strong start will need to continue into camp. Given live contact will be permitted when the 49ers return to the facility after their summer break, that is another challenge this feisty, physical and competitive corner will likely relish.
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