The San Francisco 49ers May Have Found a New Role for Jaden Dugger

The first week has been quiet for San Francisco 49ers rookie Jaden Dugger. However, that can be expected from a player coming from a smaller school who was drafted in the fifth round. Typically, by the second week of camp, his name was already surfacing as one of the biggest stories. However, it was not for his performance at linebacker, the position he was drafted to play.

Instead, Dugger flashed as an edge rusher, an interesting twist in the rookie's development.

49ers rookie stack LB Jaden Dugger is working with the defensive ends today (Dugger played an edge-like position for one season in college. He also played safety). Intrigue ! pic.twitter.com/xlb1Vg6Ixh
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) August 3, 2026

San Francisco 49ers find new role for rookie fifth-round pick Jaden Dugger

Dugger was drafted because he is big and athletic, so it should not be too much of a surprise. He played wide receiver in high school and played defensive end and safety in college. The team drafted Romello Height to play edge rusher, and he is shorter and weighs less than Dugger. Dugger has longer arms too.

So, he has all of the traits to play on the edge. It makes sense for the team to use him in this role because Raheem Morris will be more versatile in his defense, but also because the linebacker room is so deep.

There has been plenty of talk around five-man fronts with the 49ers this offseason. They have three down linemen and two outside linebackers who can rush while standing up. This allows the edge rushers to also drop into coverage and give the team more versatility.

Right now, the 49ers have Nick Martin in the SAM role, and that player would often come down and play on the line of scrimmage to give a five-man look. So, the 49ers could be getting Dugger comfortable in a spot where he can shift back and forth between the edge and linebacker.

The other reason this makes sense is how deep the linebacker room is. Martin joins Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw as the top three in three-linebacker sets. However, it is easy to get to the second unit without mentioning Dugger.

Tatum Bethune is behind Warner, Garrett Wallow is behind Dre Greenlaw, and Luke Gifford is behind Martin. Last year, Bethune stepped in for Warner, Wallow started in the WILL Spot in the playoffs, and Gifford started in the SAM role.

So, all three spots will be tough to knock off. If Dugger can play edge rusher as well as linebacker, he can make the team due to his versatility.

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