SANTA CLARA – Four years ago, a 21-year-old Deommodore Lenoir was trying to find his way around the 49ers' facility. He often got lost, and it took some time for him to get acclimated to his new home.
Now entering his fifth NFL season with San Francisco, Lenoir is impressed with how quickly this year’s rookies – particularly third-round draft pick Upton Stout – have adapted both on and off the field.
“Just looking at Upton, I feel like he's way more advanced than where I was when I first got in,” Lenoir said after 49ers minicamp on Tuesday. “Just playing the nickel spot, everything kind of slowed down for him. And I feel like all the plays that he's making, it shows that the game is slowing down for him.
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San Francisco selected Stout with the No. 100 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The 5-foot-8 1/2, 181-pound cornerback is expected to step into the role as the 49ers’ top nickel back early in his career.
Stout played five seasons of college football, which could play a factor in his maturity level and readiness at the pro level. Most of San Francisco’s 2025 draft class has four or five seasons of collegiate football under their belts. That, plus the contentious topic of NIL money and its evolution, seemingly has contributed, too.
Whatever it is, Lenoir sees it and feels it within this rookie class.
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“Yeah, I believe that the maturity level [is greater] because me and Ambry [Thomas], we came in together, we were both like 20 years old,” Lenoir said. “So we were kind of young coming in. So I feel like, yeah, the maturity level is definitely different.”
Not only is the advanced mindset and mentality that the rookies and young players exude a good thing for themselves, but it’s actually also proven to benefit the veteran players.
While young players always will take notes from those who came before them, Trent Williams, a 16-year NFL pro, admitted there are things he can take away from being around all the youth.
“I mean it just energizes you to see that raw enthusiasm that, you got a guy like me in the 16th year, and then you got a guy that's just now kind of on the cusp of living his dreams,” Williams said. “And it does make me appreciate it more. It does make me appreciate coming to work because I do remember when that was my reality, my first OTA, the second OTAs. I'm like, ‘I'm living the dream.’
“And to watch those guys live a dream, and to watch them take full advantage of it and go 100 miles an hour, every snap, it's fulfilling. And it makes you want to pick up your level of enthusiasm as well.”
On the flip side, there’s certainly plenty to soak in and learn from Williams, a three-time All-Pro and 11-time Pro Bowl selection.
Every summer, Williams has some of the younger guys work out with him. That won’t change this year, as he made it clear that his door always is open.
“Yeah, well, my door is always open,” Williams said. “Even guys like [Spencer Burford], he's been with me basically for the most part this whole summer. So the door is always open. Of course, I'm going to put it out there.
“But yeah, I do have a few people working out with me that play on the team, not on the team, but my door is always open. I'm always looking to help push this O-line, the game of the offensive line play forward, whether they play for the 49ers or not.”
After experiencing unimaginable heartbreak last season, both on and off the field, Williams is being reminded to soak every day in and appreciate things as they come. The good and the bad. The young guys will continue to serve as that reminder, while Williams and other vets, in return, will be leaders for the youth and embody what it means to be a 49er.
And already in early June, almost exactly three months before Week 1 of the 2025 season, the energy is unmatched.
“You wouldn't think this is a team that went 6-11 last year,” Williams said. “The confidence, the way kids are flying around, the new draft class, to me, looks like it has several skills, several great players who want to contribute.
“So I was really pleased to see how the confidence and how the atmosphere is coming back kind of being around the guys for the first time.”