Deommodore Lenoir Unfazed By Ashton Jeanty's Viral Hit On Him In 49ers' Win

Deommodore Lenoir unfazed by Ashton Jeanty's viral hit on him in 49ers' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty might have had his “I’ve arrived” moment when he made contact with Deommodore Lenoir in Saturday’s preseason game, but the 49ers cornerback isn’t concerned.

San Francisco left Allegiant Stadium with a 22-19 win, though Jeanty notched the best run of his short NFL career early in the game — a 13-yard power run for a first down. But before the No. 6 overall pick of the 2025 NFL draft was brought to the grass, he hit Lenoir full speed.

Lenoir bounced off Jeanty and fell on his back — a rare misjudgment by the veteran defender, who signed a hefty five-year, $88.9 million contract extension in 2024.

“Just to hear everyone down-talking me because of one play,” Lenoir said on Tuesday. “Out of 100 plays you can make one bad one, and people are just going to judge that one bad play.”

It was the most talked about play in the Raiders’ locker room in postgame interviews.

“Feels great,” Jeanty said after the game. “That’s just my mentality as a runner, just to set the tone early in the game. It takes time as a rookie to kind of gain that confidence. And I’m here, I’ve arrived, and it’s time to keep going and make plays for this team.”

Jeanty later got a taste of his own medicine after a heavy hit from 49ers linebacker Tatum Bethune. The impact earned the rookie a trip to the blue medical tent where he was examined and later allowed to return to the game.

“No, it was just a little stinger,” Jeanty said. “That’s the first time I ever had one, so just came out, they got to check for the concussion, but nothing serious. He definitely hit me pretty hard, but, I mean, I didn’t go down. So, I say I won that one.”

Lenoir only was on the field for 13 defensive snaps Saturday, and while he did miss that tackle of Jeanty, the cornerback did not allow a completion on either of his two targets, both of which were at or near the end zone.

“All the talking [doesn’t] really matter,” Lenoir said. “I know who I am, and I believe the organization knows who I am, and we are just going to go on and try to win us a Super Bowl.”

For the plays that really matter, Lenoir will have to wait for Sept. 7 when the 49ers open up the 2025 NFL season against the Seahawks in Seattle. Lenoir won’t have a chance to see Jeanty on the field again for quite some time, but he certainly will be looking forward to it when it happens.

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