The San Francisco 49ers have wrapped up their 2025 campaign after falling to the Seattle Seahawks in a divisional-round battle as Lumen Field on Saturday.
On Monday, 49ers players filled up the locker room and some took the time to speak to members of the media before departing for the offseason. Among those players was cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, who answered several questions.
While Lenoir spoke about several of his younger teammates, he singled out one defensive rookie for an impressive first season in the NFL.
“They were a big help this year,” Lenoir said. “They showed up in big games, made plays. They play very dominant, especially Upton Stout. I have to give credit to him. Because, to me, playing the nickel position, I know how hard it is when you have a run assignment and a pass assignment. Just knowing what he had to go through every snap, I just take my hat off to him.”
Stout, 24, was a third-round pick out of Western Kentucky last offseason, and while he came in as an undersized cornerback, he played significant snaps out of the gate and never really looked back.
In total, Stout appeared in 16 regular season games and played 58% of the team’s defensive snaps while recording 82 tackles (four for a loss), five passes defensed, two quarterback hits and a sack.
He was far from a shutdown cornerback as a rookie, but he was right there to make several plays soon after the catch as a more-than-willing tackler.
More 49ers: Why 49ers won’t receive draft picks for Robert Saleh leaving this time
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Upton Stout’s rookie season impressed 49ers CB Deommodore Lenoir