Which Linebacker Will Replace Dre Greenlaw in the 49ers Defense?
![January 20, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw (57) celebrates after defeating the Green Bay Packers in a 2024 NFC divisional round game at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports January 20, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw (57) celebrates after defeating the Green Bay Packers in a 2024 NFC divisional round game at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5309,h_2986,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_49ers/01j334ta70recwd2j1j6.jpg)
Some people believe the 49ers would have won the Super Bowl a few months if Dre Greenlaw simply hadn't torn his Achilles' tendon running onto the field.
Greenlaw went down with 9:26 remaining in the second quarter. At that point in the game, the Chiefs had scored no points. Their offense was struggling to move the ball. Then Oren Burks stepped in at linebacker, and the Chiefs targeted him mercilessly and successfully, and they won.
Now Burks is on the Eagles. So who will fill in for Greenlaw this season until he returns?
This offseason, the 49ers signed veteran linebacker De'Vondre Campbell to replace Burks and fill in for Greenlaw, but Cambell will be 32 this season and he just got cut by the Packers. And that's because he was awful last year. He gave up a passer rating of 111.2 when targeted, as opposed to Burks who gave up a passer rating of 61.4 during the regular season.
Which means it's quite possible that Campbell actually is a downgrade from Burks. And that wouldn't be good for the 49ers.
Fortunately for them, they drafted two linebackers last year -- Dee Winters and Jalen Graham. Plus this year they drafted another one -- Tatum Bethune. The 49ers need just one of them to step up and play better than Campbell.
And one did step up and play better than Campbell during OTAs and minicamp. And that linebacker was Dee Winters according to All Pro Fred Warner. He called Winters the 49ers' best player in all of OTAs. HIgh praise from a great player.
If Winters becomes a quality starter for the 49ers, their defense could be the best in the league.