The 49ers were unable to hang on to Dre Greenlaw and haven’t made a significant free agent addition at linebacker, making it a likely area of focus in the NFL Draft.
The 49ers made an exerted and ultimately unsuccessful effort to retain the services of Dre Greenlaw, and it’s clear they remain unhappy with their non-Fred Warner options at linebacker in the wake of his departure.
A report from Luca Evans of The Denver Post stated that the 49ers outbid the Denver Broncos as they sought to keep Greenlaw around, with head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch even flying to their former fifth-round pick’s home in an attempt to convince him to stay.
Having come up short, San Francisco would right now likely be set to start Dee Winters at WILL linebacker next to Warner at MIKE.
While Winters flashed the athletic ability that was part of the reason why the 49ers took a shot on him in the sixth round in 2023 during his time on the field in 2024, him taking a step forward and excelling in that role in 2025 is far from a guarantee.
Injury issues and being stuck behind De’Vondre Campbell on the depth chart meant Winters only played 41 percent of the defensive snaps last season, nowhere near enough for the 49ers to be fully confident in him as the long-term successor to Greenlaw.
Dee Winters only played about seven snaps for the 49ers in Week 3. But check out his activity and energy in these four snaps. He’s always looking for work.
Even from training camp, I got Kwon from ’19 vibes. His effort level is infectious and the type you can feed off pic.twitter.com/X6TMfBN1iV
— Kyle Posey (@KP_Show) September 26, 2024
The 49ers have other options in the likes of Jalen Graham, Tatum Bethune and Curtis Robinson, but San Francisco has evidently recognized a need to infuse greater competition for the role for which Winters is favorite. Indeed, the 49ers, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, rivaled the Houston Texans for the services of veteran linebacker E.J. Speed.
Speed this week signed with the Texans on a one-year deal, choosing Houston ahead of the 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys.
There’s obviously still a possibility the 49ers could turn to another veteran for insurance at the position but, as the calendar turns over to the month of the NFL Draft, the 49ers’ failure to retain Greenlaw or sign Speed underlines what has typically been a position of strength as a draft priority.
That does not mean the 49ers need to spend a first-round pick on a linebacker. Yet, with several intriguing day-two options at the position, a lack of free agent additions at the position outside of special teamer Luke Gifford increases the likelihood of San Francisco focusing on that spot ahead of other needs that might have seemed more pressing going into the offseason.
It also makes prospects with the versatility to play both linebacker and edge rusher potentially more appealing to the 49ers, and there are two such prospects with that flexibility who could be in play with the 11th overall pick in the first round in Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell and Georgia’s Javon Walker.
Campbell is regarded as a better linebacker than edge rusher, while the opposite is true of Walker. Yet, with a longer list of needs than in years gone by, adding a prospect with the potential to occupy two roles and give the 49er defense significantly more scope for disguise would make a great deal of sense for San Francisco.
Defensive tackle is widely viewed as the top need for the 49ers going into the draft, but edge rusher and linebacker are right behind in terms of needs on defense, and both reside in the top five in terms of overall areas of concern.
Having struck out on Greenlaw and in their most recent effort to fortify the linebacker position, the 49ers might now have motivation to go with a player who can strengthen that spot and their firepower off the edge ahead of a sorely needed interior disruptor.
At the very least, though, their failures on the open market at linebacker should make it a near certainty that a prospect at the position will hear his name called by the 49ers.