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Why 49ers Linebacker Nick Martin Could Have a Big Rookie Season

If Martin stays healthy, he'll record more than 100 tackles as a rookie. Watch.
Grant Cohn|
Feb 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oklahoma State linebacker Nick Martin (LB15) participates in drills during the 2025 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Feb 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oklahoma State linebacker Nick Martin (LB15) participates in drills during the 2025 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

When analysts assess the 49ers' draft, they usually praise their first two picks, Mykel Williams and Alfred Collins, then they label third-round pick Nick Martin a reach.

Maybe the analysts are correct about Martin. Maybe he would have been available for the 49ers at the end of Round 3 or even in Round 4. But of all the linebackers in this draft, he was the best fit to play weakside linebacker in Robert Saleh's defensive scheme, which is why the 49ers took him with the 75th pick.

And while Martin's career might not last 10 years, he very well could be the 49ers' best rookie next season.

Williams and Collins will start from Day 1 and immediately improve the 49ers' run defense. But as defensive linemen, they'll need to develop dramatically as pass rushers and that process could take a year or two. Which means they probably will take some time to reach their full potential.

Martin doesn't need much development -- he just needs to stay healthy. He's a 221-pound linebacker who throws his body around like he's 250 pounds. Last season, he injured his MCL and missed all but five games.

But Martin is healthy now. He ran a 4.53 40 at the Combine and he has 31 3/4 inch arms, which means he has the speed to cover tons of ground as an underneath zone defender and the length to break up passes. These are the two traits Saleh requires from his outside linebackers.

Does it matter that Martin is only 5'11" and 1/2? Probably not. That's how tall Dre Greenlaw is.

Does it matter that Martin weighs only 221 pounds? Probably not. Telvin Smith weighed 215 pounds and he recorded 351 tackles in three seasons playing weakside linebacker for Saleh on the Jaguars.

If Martin stays healthy, he'll record more than 100 tackles as a rookie. Watch.

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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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