"Lenoir crafted his 'Hyena' nickname to stand out as unique among his NFL peers, but contrary to his moniker, he has quietly dominated receivers with effective play," the analytics team wrote.
Since taking over as the 49ers' top corner following Charvarius Ward's offseason departure, Lenoir has delivered standout production that rivals the NFL's best. Here's a look at his key metrics this season:
- Has allowed the second-fewest yards per coverage snap (0.5) among cornerbacks with 100+ coverage snaps.
- Has spent the seventh-most time in tight coverage (109.3 seconds) this season.
- On 10 targets beyond 16 air yards, he has not allowed a single completion.
- His 11.6% target rate ranks 12th-lowest among 104 cornerbacks with 100+ coverage snaps. That's an improvement from 2024 (18.4%), when he frequently played in the nickel spot.
- Since the start of 2024, he has allowed only one touchdown on 124 targets. No other cornerback with 120+ targets has allowed fewer than four since then.
- His 5.6 yards per target is the lowest among all cornerbacks with 120+ targets.
On Sunday against the Houston Texans, Lenoir hauled in an interception, snapping an interception-less streak that spanned an NFL-record 14 games. However, Lenoir made the mistake of not going down or getting out of bounds, which could have set up a field goal to end the first half.
"It was really just I was trying to score," Lenoir said. "I should have slid. I wasn't aware how much time was left on the clock, but I just (saw) the end zone and I was trying to score (and) put us in a good position to be able to win the game."
With his strong coverage metrics and unwavering confidence, Lenoir continues to prove himself to be one of the NFL's premier cornerbacks.
Related News
More San Francisco 49ers News
-
49ers' Kyle Shanahan falls just short of AP's top 3 NFL head coaches
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is widely regarded as one of the NFL's brightest offensive minds. His performance last season—leading an injury-riddled roster to a 12-win campaign and a playoff berth—only strengthened that reputation. However, it wasn't enough... -
49ers' Mike Evans left off ESPN's top-10 wide receiver rankings
The San Francisco 49ers signed veteran wide receiver Mike Evans this offseason as part of a major overhaul of their receiving corps. The hope is that the six-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion can elevate the offense while giving quarterback Brock Purdy a dependable... -
49ers' Brock Purdy left out of ESPN's top-10 quarterback rankings
The debate over where San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy ranks among the NFL's elite continues. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler continued his annual NFL position rankings this week, unveiling his list of the league's top quarterbacks. The rankings are based on feedback from NFL... -
49ers top 5 most intriguing training camp storylines
Training camp for the San Francisco 49ers is right around the corner. The rookies report next Saturday, July 18, while the veterans come to camp the following Saturday, July 25. With all due respect to the Yuletide season, football fans will tell you this is "the most wonderful...