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Will the 49ers Pick a Linebacker in Round 3 of the NFL Draft?

The last time the 49ers drafted a linebacker in Round 3, they picked Fred Warner.
Grant Cohn|
Sep 7, 2024; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. (17) celebrates after a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
Sep 7, 2024; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. (17) celebrates after a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The last time the 49ers drafted a linebacker in Round 3, they picked Fred Warner. Will they take a linebacker again in Round 3 this year?

They desperately need someone to replace Warner's former running mate Dre Greenlaw, who signed with the Denver Broncos this offseason. The next man up on the depth chart is Dee Winters, who was a sixth-round draft pick in 2023. The 49ers might prefer someone more talented to take over as a starter.

That's why they might take South Carolina linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. in Round 3.

Knight Jr. is a violent weakside linebacker who runs extremely fast. At the NFL Scouting Combine, he ran a 4.58 40-yard dash while weighing 235 pounds. Compare him to former 49ers linebacker Kwon Alexander who ran a 4.55 40-yard dash at 227 pounds when he came out of college.

Knight Jr. is a slightly bigger version of Alexander. And Alexander originally was supposed to be Warner's running mate, not Greenlaw. In 2019, the 49ers signed Alexander to a four-year, $54 million deal and drafted Greenlaw in Round 5. Then injuries to Alexander opened the door for Greenlaw to take his job and he never gave it back.

But when Alexander was young, particularly when he played for the Buccaneers, he was outstanding. I'm guessing Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh would love to have a young Kwon Alexander to replace an aging Dre Greenlaw.

The 49ers have to draft a Day 1 starter at linebacker, so I would be surprised if they waited longer than Round 3 to address the position. Knight Jr. should be the best linebacker available when they're on the clock with the 75th pick.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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