Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, Tre Brown, Upton Stout (R), Darrell Luter Jr., Chase Lucas
Second-year cornerback Renardo Green is someone we expect to become a household name this season, and San Francisco won’t lack for confidence with him and Deommodore Lenoir—both stickier cover guys with a different style than usual for Robert Saleh’s scheme. A third-round pick used on slot cornerback Upton Stout might mean more of Lenoir on the perimeter, but Darrell Luter Jr. still makes our projection as the big-bodied option for the outside, and Chase Lucas will try to beat out Tre Avery, Dallis Flowers, and others.
Safety (4)
Ji’Ayir Brown, Richie Grant, Jason Pinnock, Marques Sigle (R)
The 49ers will have perhaps the best young safety duo in the NFL when Malik Mustapha (knee) is healthy, so they’ll need to piece things together with Ji’Ayir Brown until Mustapha is back. Siran Neal could also factor in at cornerback, but we have fellow 2025 signings Richie Grant and Jason Pinnock making it with fifth-rounder Marques Sigle.
Special teams (3)
Jake Moody, Thomas Morstead, Jon Weeks
There is a chance San Francisco has all new options on special teams with Thomas Morstead signed as the punter and Jon Weeks brought in as the long snapper—but perhaps the changes at holder and snapper will give former third-rounder Jake Moody one more chance. He’ll need to win a competition versus Greg Joseph, and the Niners should go with the more consistent option this summer