Who Will Replace Dre Greenlaw at Linebacker for the 49ers?

There are plenty of great storylines to talk about when it comes to the 2025 49ers roster. Some people are discussing how Brock Purdy will perform with a brand-new contract, while others discuss the return of Robert Saleh and the Wide Receiver Core. All of those are important conversations, but the most important to me is who will be the replacement for Dre Greenlaw. When healthy, Greenlaw was one of the most crucial players on this 49ers defense. The 49ers attempted to address this by drafting LB Nick Martin, which has led to a competition between him and Dee Winters. Who has the best chance to join the great Fred Warner as a starting Linebacker?

Dee Winters

Dee Winters had a quality 2022 season playing for TCU. This TCU squad upset the #3 seed Michigan to face Georgia in the National Championship. In that game against Michigan, Winters solidified himself as one of the best Linebackers in the Big 12. Winters won Defensive MVP, having a pick-six, 7 tackles, and a pass breakup. That performance and his abilities all year led him to receive First-Team All-Big 12 Honors. That is a lot of awards.

Even with all of those accolades and impressive performances, it was not enough to get Winters in the top half of the draft. Winters went in the 6th round after having a rather interesting combine. He jumped off the page in certain areas, such as his 40 40-yard dash time. Winters was 0.21 seconds faster than the average NFL Linebacker time of 4.7 seconds. That may lead you to think he was this freak of nature athlete, but the NFL's draft profile site gave him a 70 Grade for Athleticism and a 5.94 Draft Prospect Grade. What that translates to is rather simple: he is a decently athletic player who is expected to be a backup or special-teams contributor.

Although Winters had the speed to be a starter, some of the other traits were simply not there. He lacked the ability to shed blockers, needed to be more urgent, and was unable to register important routes in zone coverage.

The Niners still utilized Winters in Greenlaw's absence, and he did show some flashes in 2024. He had two strong games against Miami and Chicago, but otherwise, there was not much of note. During this season's OTAs, it has been made very clear that the team believes Winters will be the guy. Robert Saleh has been quoted as saying, "He’s got something to him, I don’t want to jinx him or anything, but if he stays on his trajectory and he attacks these next 40 days and he does things the right way, I think he’s due for a heck of a season." That is big praise from the new defensive coordinator. In case his word isn't enough, Fred Warner coaching him up constantly goes to show the team's belief even more. All of this is great news for Winters, but one important bit is the fact that all of this is from OTAs, a training camp where players only wear helmets. It does get hard to judge a Linebacker without seeing them with pads.

Nick Martin

Nick Martin broke out in 2023. His stats shoot off the page in comparison to any other season he played. Martin had 140 tackles in 2023, 5th in the nation and the most by an Oklahoma State player in nearly four decades. Like Winters, Martin was also named on the All-Big 12 First Team. Although his Oklahoma State squad did not make much impact in the college playoffs, he solidified himself as an anchor for that defensive unit. Martin returned to Oklahoma in 2024, but a knee injury cut his season short.

Martin headed to the Draft as a quality linebacker in a loaded class. Plenty of names were ahead of his, whether it was because they were more talented or did not have an injury history like Martin's. Even with all of those names ahead of him, Martin was able to get drafted in Round 3 with some great combine numbers. He was 0.04 seconds behind Dee Winters in the 40-yard dash, but crushed him in every other aspect. Martin had a better 10-Yard Split, Vertical Jump, and Broad Jump than Winters did. It all proved his freakish athleticism, and the NFL Draft Profile page recognized it by giving him an 80 Athleticism Grade, which was 5th amongst all Linebackers drafted.

Many analysts viewed Martin as a Round 4 pick, but the Niners took a shot on him early. Seemingly, the team saw a resemblance to Dre Greenlaw and anticipated him to become the future sidekick for Fred Warner, and he has a lot of the tools to do it. Martin has incredible bend and an ability to get below blockers, cause pressure in the blitz, has quick twitchy feet, and even being able to go downhill to hit a man in the backfield. Those are some great positives for a Linebacker, but there are some flaws. Martin showed some issues in coverage and play recognition. He can show weakness if he's targeted with passes and has a tendency to miss tackles.

All in all, these two players are oddly similar. Two quick Linebackers who had First-Team experience in college. Both show strong athleticism but lack skills in coverage. So, who will be the guy in Week 1?

I'm currently leaning toward sticking with what is known in Dee Winters. He has the experience on his resume and the team behind him. However, I would expect Martin to take over the role during the season. Nick Martin's talent and athleticism are remarkable. Once he has built confidence in himself and the team, he's bound to be a starter. We'll get to know more when the real Training Camp begins.

Dee Winters

Nick Martin

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