How 49ers rookie Lenoir impressed Shanahan in NFL debut

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Jimmy Garoppolo, Deebo Samuel and the entire 49ers roster was dominating the Detroit Lions early in their Week 1 matchup. Even after the Lions made a late comeback, the Niners were still able to secure the 41-33 win.

49ers rookie Deommodore Lenoir acquitted himself well in his NFL debut Sunday in San Francisco's 41-33 win over the Detroit Lions.

With Emmanuel Moseley inactive, the fifth-round pick played all 90 snaps on defense, was targeted just four times in 55 coverage snaps and allowed just one catch for 3 yards. Pretty, pretty good.

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan liked what he saw from Lenoir, but knows the rookie has a lot to work on in the coming weeks.

“It being his first game, throwing him out there, he played a lot of plays at corner and then he played a little bit there at nickel in the fourth and I thought he did a good job," Shanahan said Monday. "Definitely some things he can clean up, I thought he was fortunate when they got by him on that deep ball that sailed out of bounds. But for the most part, like he's been since he's been here, he's not scared of the moment and he went out there and competed.”

Veteran cornerback Jason Verrett tore his ACL in Detroit and will miss the remainder of the season. The 49ers reportedly agreed to sign Dre Kirkpatrick to add depth at corner Monday, but Lenoir should expect to see more playing time, especially if Moseley isn't ready to go.

RELATED: 49ers Week 1 overreactions: Cornerback too low on priority list?

The 49ers expect to have Josh Norman ready to go for Sunday when they face the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2. Shanahan said he wasn't sure if Moseley would be back Sunday but was confident the 49ers would get him back soon.

If Moseley can't play vs. the Eagles, Lenoir, Norman, Kirkpatrick and Dontae Johnson are the likely options for the two cornerback spots.

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