Who will play alongside Fred Warner at linebacker is a question the 49ers must answer as they look ahead to the 2025 NFL season.
Linebackers who can play both off the ball and or stacked behind the defensive line are difficult to find as the free agent market showed when Dre Greenlaw signed a three-year $31 million contract with the Denver Broncos.
Several teams reportedly were interested in Greenlaw, even after an incredibly challenging attempt to comeback from an Achilles injury last season, barely appearing in two games before being shut down. There were whispers that the 49ers made a late push to re-sign their 2019 fifth-round draft pick but it ended up being too little, too late.
The 49ers’ failure to bring back one of their most impactful players could haunt them well after the 2025 season.
Currently on the roster, Dee Winters and Tatum Bethune both are options to become full-time starters, with the former gaining experience with appearances in 15 games in 2024 — 10 as a starter. Winters recorded 44 tackles —26 solo and four pass breakups in his sophomore season.
Bethune was active for 11 games appearing predominantly on special teams for 165 plays (56 percent) but only 51 defensive snaps.
Veteran Curtis Robinson re-signed with the team but the timeline for his return from an ACL injury is uncertain.
Top-flight linebackers also are scarce in the 2025 NFL Draft class with only Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell and Georgia’s Jalon Walker considered to be first-round caliber prospects by the majority of draft pundits.
Campbell’s draft stock has taken a hit after undergoing surgery to mend a torn labrum in his shoulder following the NFL Scouting Combine. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has slated the Crimson Tide prospect to be selected at No. 9 by the New Orleans Saints while his counterpart Bucky Brooks has the prospect listed lower, at No. 19, being taken by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Walker is projected as a hybrid off-the-ball linebacker/pass rusher who can get after the quarterback. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is probably already imagining ways he could use the talented player’s talents, even as a raw, physical talent. But there will need to be an acclimation as the Bulldog does not have significant experience in coverage.
Still, for the 49ers to be able to draft Walker or Campbell, the chips will need to fall in favor of the Bay Area team, which is not a guarantee. For now, San Francisco will keep doing their research while building their draft board, and looking for the next Dre Greenlaw.
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