San Francisco has reason to be excited about plenty of what it’s seen from its talented crop of rookies.
One of those rookie standouts is linebacker Nick Martin, who tied for the team lead in tackles with six against the Raiders last Saturday afternoon in the 49ers‘ 22-19 preseason win.
Advertisement
The 5-foot-11, 221-pound linebacker had a pair of tackles for loss and a quarterback hit in the win over Las Vegas. Martin also notched five tackles in the 49ers‘ preseason opener against the Denver Broncos.
49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh met with reporters on Wednesday and shared his thoughts on Martin’s growth from game one to game two of the preseason.
“Much better. Nick’s got all the talent in the world. He’s got the speed. He’s got tremendous violence. His reactionary skills are incredible. The game’s got to slow down for him. And again, that’s reps for him. He can regurgitate the information like a lot of rookies can, but when you’re on the field and the ball snaps and it’s moving as fast as it does, it’s going to take him some time from a repetition standpoint.
“But, what was encouraging is that he maintained his confidence. He came out last week, had a very productive day and the expectation for him is to continue to get better in that regard,” Saleh said.
Advertisement
Martin joins a group of linebackers that features four-time first-team All-Pro Fred Warner and third-year pro Dee Winters, who made his first 10 career starts last season.
The Oklahoma State alum is eyeing a real opportunity to help the 49ers in his rookie season. Martin racked up 203 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, four passes defensed, two interceptions, a pair of forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries across 35 games played and 19 starts at OSU.
More 49ers: 49ers announce quartet of roster moves on Wednesday
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers pleased by ‘tremendous violence’ from rookie defender