Do the 49ers Have Depth Concerns at Linebacker?

There is one concern that can become a major problem for the 49ers and that is the depth at linebacker.

Concerns are a natural part of football.

When it comes to the 49ers, they don’t really have more than a handful that are issues. 

However, there is one concern that can become a major problem and that is the depth at linebacker. Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw are the clear-cut top of the pecking order, but after them there isn’t really anyone. Azeez Al-Shaair has been a bit of a reliable player in base and filling in for Greenlaw. Unfortunately, a knee injury has put him temporarily on the shelf and now exposes the depth behind him. Regardless of how long he is out, it is an example of how thin they are at linebacker.

So do the 49ers have depth concerns at linebacker?

They definitely do.

Linebacker is a spot where if Greenlaw or Al-Shaair are missing in action, then the 49ers will look to newly transitioned linebacker Marcell Harris or stick to a dime look. At that point, teams will just try to bully-ball the 49ers in the run game if they’re effective enough. There really isn’t much the 49ers can do to address the linebacker position. Not unless they look to K.J. Wright in free agency, which I sincerely doubt they’ve even thought of. 

That means that they’re going to have to churn out a capable player currently on the roster. I have little faith that Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, James Burgess, and Justin Hilliard can be that player to step up should they need to fill in. If the 49ers had any faith they could, then they wouldn’t look at switching Harris to linebacker.

Luckily for the 49ers, Warner is a proven tank when it comes to health. Only Greenlaw has shown to be a little banged up, but nothing serious. So fortune is on the 49ers in this case, but you just never know given their overall luck with injuries. All it takes is for one of these players to sustain one and the depth becomes exposed. Perhaps the 49ers can poach a promising looking linebacker once the other 31 teams have made their final roster cuts. It wouldn’t hurt to do so. 

The last thing the 49ers want is to run out of players and scramble due to injuries like last season. It is certainly a concern, but not one they cannot overcome or handicap them. So long as Warner is healthy, they can get by with other players. 

But it does behoove the 49ers to try and get a player developed there to be sufficient in base-defense.