The San Francisco 49ers have been excellent at churning out quality linebacker play since head coach Kyle Shanahan arrived in 2017.
Fred Warner has developed into the NFL’s best off-ball LB, while players like Dre Greenlaw and Azeez Al-Shaair have developed to become to become high-quality starters. In Greenlaw’s case – a star.
As the page starts to turn on this iteration of the 49ers, finding new linebackers is going to be key to maintaining their defensive dominance. Warner is still outstanding and a First-Team All-Pro. Aside from that there’s no sure thing in the pipeline with Greenlaw and LB De’Vondre Campbell both set to hit free agency in 2025.
Two players who do factor into the future of the 49ers’ defense both seem to be coming along in their second seasons. 2023 sixth-round pick Dee Winters and 2023 seventh-round pick Jalen Graham both flashed in the preseason as rookies, but neither made a substantial on-field impact in the regular season.
Both players appear poised to make a leap in Year 2 according to defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen. He told reporters after Wednesday’s practice that San Francisco’s defense is becoming easier for Graham and Winters.
“Absolutely. Dee Winters plays fast. So does Jalen,” Sorensen said in a press conference. “The way to play fast is to know what you’re doing and to feel comfortable in that. And then you’re anticipating it. You have to learn a whole new system. It’s totally different in college. There’s a lot of differences. And then the details of what we do. So it’s understanding the differences in the offenses and then understanding the details of the defense. And once you start to grasp that, it starts to become second nature. Your brain is not slowing you down, then you can see that speed and you can fully cut it loose and that’s where they’re at. They’re taking that jump, both of them. It’s cool.”
Both players could be major factors in the 49ers’ defense in the future. Every step forward they take in this year’s training camp puts them on track to be a factor as early as this season.
There’s a starting SAM LB job open for San Francisco that either one of Winters or Graham could win. The SAM LB is only on the field in base packages, compared to the MIKE and WILL LBs who are on the field for virtually every down. De’Vondre Campbell is slated to start at the WLB spot.
Campbell was an All-Pro in 2021 for the Packers, but has seen his play decline some since then. He’s still a quality player who may regain his All-Pro footing playing alongside Warner. It’s not off the table though that the 31-year-old is on the backside of his prime and simply regressing as a player.
Both Graham and Winters could find their way into the starting lineup in 2024 if the latter of those outcomes comes true for Campbell.
That will all play itself out. The good news for the 49ers is that it looks like Winters and Graham are trending toward being NFL-caliber LBs. If that is the case, it would put San Francisco’s defense in a great position to continue dominating in the second level even as it goes through some changes.
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