{"id":259450,"date":"2025-08-03T21:17:48","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T21:17:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/259450\/"},"modified":"2025-08-03T21:17:48","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T21:17:48","slug":"49ers-linebacker-corps-ramps-up-for-opener-vs-broncos-dre-greenlaw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/259450\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers’ linebacker corps ramps up for opener vs. Broncos, Dre Greenlaw"},"content":{"rendered":"

SANTA CLARA \u2014 Linebackers coach Johnny Holland chuckled when asked about the 49ers\u2019<\/a> incoming visitors for this week\u2019s opening of the preseason.<\/p>\n

It just so happens the Denver Broncos are coming to town with a marquee player the 49ers are trying to replace:\u00a0Dre Greenlaw<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope Dre takes the day off and doesn\u2019t practice against us,\u201d Holland said Sunday as the 49ers made assistant coaches available to the media. \u201cBut it\u2019s always exciting to see him. I know he\u2019ll be fired to come back here to practice and play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Francisco 49ers’ Dre Greenlaw (57) holds onto a pick in the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers in an NFC Divisional playoff game, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. (Karl Mondon\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Because of a quadriceps issue in practice this past week, Greenlaw\u2019s health is in question, something the 49ers experienced a lot in recent seasons. A joint practice is set for Thursday, with the exhibition opener Saturday at Levi\u2019s Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have guys with similar size and traits as Dre Greenlaw but we\u2019re not really trying to measure those guys up to Dre Greenlaw. That\u2019s a big measurement,\u201d Holland said. \u201cWe want them to become better and better every day and see how far they can go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reluctantly, the 49ers couldn\u2019t re-sign Greenlaw and officially moved on to younger options to line up with All-Pro Fred Warner. Dee Winters<\/a> is making impressive strides this training camp as the weak-side linebacker while rookie Nick Martin is being groomed on the second string.<\/p>\n

Holland\u2019s scouting report of his unit\u2019s options around Warner:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Winters has the speed and physical violence required to excel, and two years of experience in the 49ers\u2019 system should help him make the jump.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew from the start Dee Winters had a chance to be a really good player and it just takes time to develop guys,\u201d Holland said. \u201cI look at our past, with Greenlaw and Azeez (Al-Shaiir), it just takes a year to develop. Fred started early. Dee Winters has the traits to become a really good linebacker and has stuff that\u2019s hard to teach \u2013 physical violence and speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Francisco 49ers\u2019 Dee Winters (53) practices at the San Francisco 49ers\u2019 practice facility in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group<\/p>\n

\u2014 Martin hasn\u2019t let a fractured thumb in the spring impact his daily work, though Holland wants him to master the weak-side spot before debuting as a strong-side linebacker, where he could line up alongside Warner and Winters. Martin hasn\u2019t tackled anyone since last September\u2019s knee injury at Oklahoma State but his thudding in camp has impressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNick has been what we thought he\u2019d be: a physical, violent player,\u201d Holland said. \u201cHe\u2019s a young player in this system. Usually it takes a year or two to be comfortable with all the techniques and fundamentals. He\u2019s a fun guy to coach, he\u2019s available every day, and he sits by Fred every day to pick his brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Francisco 49ers linebacker Nick Martin (45) takes part in a practice on Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Santa Clara, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tatum Bethune has been the second-string middle linebacker, who Holland said has made a \u201cbig jump\u201d in terms of his quickness.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe became a better pro, his body is a lot better, he\u2019s a lot quicker,\u201d Holland said. \u201cHe\u2019s always had the ability to thump and hit and be violent. And he\u2019s instinctive. We\u2019re excited to see how far he can go in the preseason and hopefully be one of our guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Francisco 49ers cornerback Renardo Green (31) celebrates with linebacker Tatum Bethune (48) after recovering a fumble during the second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Tennessee Titans, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/Mike Stewart)\u00a0A.P. Photo<\/p>\n

\u2014 Luke Gifford is a seventh-year veteran whose 6-3 frame will be a mainstay on special teams. But he has been the strong-side starting linebacker all camp. \u201cHe is a big body, physical and smart player. We ask Luke to set the edge and be violent on blocks,\u201d Holland said.<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Francisco 49ers\u2019 Luke Gifford (57) practices at the San Francisco 49ers\u2019 practice facility in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

A year ago, the 49ers failed to adequately replace Greenlaw as he rehabilitated from an Achilles tear in the Super Bowl. Veteran De\u2019Vondre Campbell was a bust and eventually dismissed after his refusal to play Dec. 12 against the Rams. Winters flashed at times, and he\u2019s shown much more consistency this camp.<\/p>\n

Their pass rush and defensive front may have drawn the biggest headlines but improving the run defense is even more critical and Holland\u2019s linebackers must deliver in that regard.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. 1, we have to stop the run,\u201d Holland said. \u201cA lot of it came down to we didn\u2019t get takeaways. We have to take the ball away and get off the field. If not, teams will have a chance to run the ball on you or get yardage on you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 49ers recorded six fumble recoveries and 11 interceptions. Holland expects improvement, with new personnel and the return of Robert Saleh as defensive coordinator. \u201cWe got bigger up front,\u201d he said, \u201cand with Saleh coming in, it\u2019s the same system but we\u2019ll try to be more aggressive on defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unquestionably leading that defense is Warner, in his eighth season. Some of the spiciest matchups in camp are Warner going against Christian McCaffrey, both in one-on-one action and full-team run fits.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor those guys to go against each other and make each other better is awesome. That\u2019s what we look for,\u201d Holland said. \u201cFred always has energy in practice and games. That\u2019s our culture, we want every day to have fun, have energy and get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally Published: August 3, 2025 at 9:40 AM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SANTA CLARA \u2014 Linebackers coach Johnny Holland chuckled when asked about the 49ers\u2019 incoming visitors for this week\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259451,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2062],"tags":[2947,32774,1926,232,1443,231,258,2426,7,1921,929,6,252,7910,1929,1930,9],"class_list":{"0":"post-259450","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-broncos","8":"tag-49ers-hq","9":"tag-49ers-training-camp","10":"tag-bay-area","11":"tag-broncos","12":"tag-california","13":"tag-denver","14":"tag-denver-broncos","15":"tag-denverbroncos","16":"tag-football","17":"tag-inside-sports","18":"tag-latest-headlines","19":"tag-nfl","20":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","21":"tag-santa-clara","22":"tag-santa-clara-county","23":"tag-south-bay","24":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114966922478076771","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}