Maybe San Francisco 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir trolls a lot of NFL wide receivers, or maybe he just likes to direct his online trash to the Seattle Seahawks. Last year, he yapped on Instagram about DK Metcalf, and this offseason, his target is Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
There are a few different ways of looking at this. One is that now that Metcalf has been traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, JSN is the clear alpha of the Seahawks' wide receiver room. He became that in 2024, but now there is no question who is WR1.
Perhaps Lenoir going out of his way to troll JSN is simply a sign of respect, whether Lenoir understands that or not. The 49ers' cornerback knows that he will have to deal with Smith-Njigba as much as JSN has to deal with him twice a season when Seattle plays San Francisco.
49ers cornerback foolishly talks online smack about Seahawks' Jaxon Smith-Njigba
While it is unclear when Lenoir posted his nonsense on Instagram, a 49ers fan handle on X/Twitter took screenshots and posted them. You can see them below.
#49ers Deommodore Lenoir cooking Jaxon Smith-Njigba on his IG stories 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/pJL56HIe1f
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) June 9, 2025
Lenoir not only takes issue with JSN but also takes a shot at former Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith by calling him a bum. The 49ers' corner also implies he and his team were a big reason that Smith was traded, or wanted to be traded, from the Seahawks. That, of course, is false, and money was the problem.
As far as Lenoir facing Smith-Njigba, the 49ers cornerback appears to feel he gets the better of that matchup. JSN has been in the league for two years, but was ill-used by former Seattle offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was a rookie. 2024 was the receiver's breakout season when he had 100 catches and 1,130 receiving yards.
In the two meetings between the Seahawks and 49ers last year, Lenoir covered Smith-Njigba on 10 targets. JSN caught seven of those passes for 69 yards. Four of the catches resulted in a first down. If a receiver is picking up a first down 40 percent of the time, a cornerback is covering said receiver, the defensive back is not winning the matchups.
This is especially true if a receiver catches 70 percent of the passes thrown his way as the cornerback is trying to cover the wideout.
One might argue that Lenoir would have more success against Smith-Njigba now that the 49ers defense doesn't have to worry about Metcalf, but individually, Lenoir rarely covered Metcalf in 2024. In the two games the teams played one another, Lenoir covered Metcalf twice.
Meanwhile, he was too busy being beaten by Smith-Njigba 70 percent of the time. JSN is still ascending as well, and will be an even tougher cover in the future for Lenoir. That is if Lenoir lasts with the 49ers. Jaxon Smith-Njigba might abuse him so much in coverage that San Francisco looks elsewhere for help at cornerback, and one who can cover the Seahawks' best receiver.