SANTA CLARA — Deommodore Lenoir did enough to get paid and be part of the 49ers’ future even as the team crumbled around him down the stretch in 2024.

Now comes the hard part. Living up to it.

Lenoir doesn’t turn 26 until the first week of October, but he’s right alongside quarterback Brock Purdy, running back Christian McCaffrey, tackle Trent Williams, tight end George Kittle, defensive end Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner as a franchise cornerstone for a team expecting to rebound from a 6-11 season.

“It kind of makes me feel old, being the veteran guy,” Lenoir said Tuesday of his role in the 49ers’ defensive secondary. “Feeling like I just came in yesterday and now being able to be one of the leaders on the team, being able to push a young guy just to make sure their feet are in the right place.”While fiery and combative, Lenoir has not been overly verbal as a teammate. Coach Kyle Shanahan initiated the process of bringing Lenoir out of his shell last season by asking him to speak before the team during a Saturday night meeting. Lenoir conceded he was more nervous about what he would say than how he would play.

Fast forward to Tuesday and the first day of the 49ers’ two-day mandatory minicamp, and Lenoir, who received a five-year contract extension worth a maximum of $92 million last Nov. 12, was giving words of encouragement and expertise to a revamped secondary. He understands that along with big money comes big leadership responsibility.

“I feel like I’ve been very vocal this year, just comparing it to last year and the year before that,” Lenoir said. “I wouldn’t really say much. Now I’m breaking down the team, helping guys out and saying stuff when it needs to be said.”

Of course, all the words in the world won’t make much of a difference unless Lenoir is making plays. He’s been in the middle of things for the past two seasons, playing a dual role of outside corner and nickel corner depending on down and distance that few, if any, corners in the NFL do with regularity.

The role suits him, because as corners go, Lenoir is kind of a tweener. He’s not a tall, long-armed corner at 5-foot-10, 201 pounds. Nor is Lenoir a small waterbug of a corner like Upton Stout, a 5-foot-8, 183-pound cornerback who is expected to make a run at serious playing time as a slot corner late third-round pick (No. 100) out of Western Kentucky.

Which is why Lenoir wasn’t taken until the fifth round (No. 172) in 2021 out of Oregon. Lenoir started well, but struggled with a crisis of confidence that lasted much of the season and prompted an offseason of work on his body and his understanding of the defense.

Lenoir emerged as a starter in 2022, with free safety Jimmie Ward manning the slot corner role that used to belong to K’Waun Williams. Ward said he’d rather stay at free safety, and left for the Houston Texans in free agency. Lenoir was open to any suggestion that would keep him on the field.

He feels the same way now and is looking to build on his career total of six interceptions in 62 games and move up a notch after being a Pro Bowl alternate.

“Wherever the coaches need me, that’s where I’ll play,” Lenoir said. “Right now it’s been predominantly outside and I’ll try and be No. 1 at that.”

Lenoir could play more extensively on the outside if Stout shows he’s up to being a rookie in the slot. In the limited amount of time reporters have on the field during practice, Lenoir has played mainly on the outside, rather than in traffic.

“That spot is vital to the defense,” Lenoir said. “Playing next to Fred (Warner), hearing all the communication, you’re in the action. Corner is just kind of different. You’re on the outside, and you’re involved in the run game, but not really involved like a nickel is. It’s going to be different for me.”

With one more brief practice before the 49ers break up until mid-July, it’s too early for a depth chart, but it isn’t hard to read the tea leaves and see the 49ers are looking to second-year corner Renardo Green and Lenoir on the outside and Stout on the inside. Lenoir can always move inside as needed.

“I feel like Upton is way more advanced than when I got here, and everything’s kind of slowed down for him,” Lenoir said. “All the plays he’s making, I feel he’s going to excel.”

As for Green, Lenoir also expects big things.

“You always got eyes on you from the Year 1 to Year 2 jump,” Lenoir said. “I think he’s built the confidence to where he can guard anyone.”

Lenoir was ecstatic to get a deal done with the 49ers, even as some of his teammates were allowed to walk in free agency — in part because Lenoir and eventually Purdy got paid, and Warner and Kittle also signed extensions.

You want to know who the 49ers value in terms of performance and leadership? Follow the money.

“I never wanted to think like that because of the relationships I’ve built with those guys. I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Lenoir said. “But just being able to be here, and to be locked in was the best decision for me.”

49ers sign WesT

The 49ers signed defensive lineman C.J. West to a four-year contract. West (6-1, 316) was the first of two 49ers fourth-round picks in this year’s draft out of Indiana. He appeared in 52 games (48 starts) over five seasons at Indiana (2024) and Kent State (2020-23) and had 152 tackles, 27.0 tackles for loss, 9.0 sacks, two passes defensed, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. In 2024 with Indiana, he started in 13 games and had 42 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 2.0 sacks.