The 2023 season was an uneven one for Dre Greenlaw.
As the previous season came to a close, the San Francisco 49ers’ brass thought the fast, physical weakside linebacker deserved a spot in the Pro Bowl. A year later, no one was making that argument as Greenlaw battled injuries and struggled with missed tackles at various points.
Advertisement
His issues were most apparent during a Week 8 home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The 49ers had a season-high 13 missed tackles that day, three of them from Greenlaw who looked uncharacteristically plodding and who emerged with a shoulder sprain. Afterward, Kyle Shanahan said the team looked “slow and tired,” the first time he’d said that about his crew.
Greenlaw rebounded in a big way in the 49ers’ first playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, leading the team in tackles, coming away with two interceptions and teaming with Javon Hargrave on a key, fourth-down stop. But he was banged up for that game, too. He was questionable for the contest due to Achilles tendonitis, something that would rear its head in the Super Bowl.
The week before the game, the 49ers practiced on a squishier-than-normal surface at UNLV. The playing surface was seen by some as a possible culprit when Greenlaw tore his left Achilles — albeit, not the one that was causing issues versus the Packers — when entering the field from the sideline while secondary coach Daniel Bullocks tore his Achilles while jumping up and down to celebrate an interception.
Greenlaw has said he doesn’t blame the practice surface for his injury. But his loss in the Super Bowl was a major blow and his rehabilitation likely means he’ll start the 2024 season on the physically unable to perform list and be forced to miss at least the first four games. — Matt Barrows
By the numbers
After the 49ers finished as the league’s top-ranked defense in 2022, a look under the hood showed excellent splits in both tackling and pass coverage from the linebackers, a unit anchored by Greenlaw and superstar Fred Warner.
The splits, however, looked different in 2024.
| Linebacker | TKL | GRADE | MTKL% | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
117 | 90.0 | 15.0% | 82.3 | |
99 | 73.1 | 10.9% | 86.7 | |
38 | 58.9 | 8.3% | 88.1 | |
11 | 52.6 | 10.0% | 118.8 | |
5 | 29.4 | 28.6% | 100.8 |
Grades courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
Coverage remained a strength, at least for Warner and Greenlaw (although Oren Burks scored well above, his regular season sample was limited and he struggled mightily in the Super Bowl after Greenlaw’s injury). But tackling performance, which is connected to quality run defense, slipped considerably.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Buy
Warner and Greenlaw missed a combined 45 tackles, up from 29 total missed tackles in 2022. Is there anything beyond injury issues that might’ve caused this decline? Warner and Greenlaw were as good as ever in the passing game, so perhaps they found themselves out of position more often in 2023. This could’ve compromised their tackling angles. The 49ers’ tumble on run defense, from No. 2 in 2022 to the No. 26 in 2023, certainly suggests they were hindered by at least some structural issues in that phase of the game.
The 49ers replaced defensive coordinator Steve Wilks with Nick Sorensen after the season. A re-commitment to run defense was a key part of that change. We’ll see if a schematic shift helps tackling efficiency. Warner, especially, has room for improvement.
Missed tackle numbers courtesy of PFF.
Warner developed into a very good tackler by his third season in the league. He delivered his top marks in the 2020 and 2021 campaigns. The team featured a stout interior defensive line, anchored by tackle D.J. Jones, in those seasons.
Perhaps the primary lesson lies in that nugget. Defenses are interconnected entities. Linebackers’ effectiveness is dependent on the work of the defense line in front of them. Block-gobbling bodies there can free up advantageous downfield tackling angles for the second level. The 49ers overhauled their defensive line this offseason and they hope that this leads to improvement from their linebackers, too.
The unit’s track record — it had blossomed into the NFL’s best outfit by that 2022 season — suggests that a return to the top is possible. — David Lombardi
GO DEEPER
State of the 49ers, DL: An overhaul up front surrounding Nick Bosa and Javon Hargrave
Offseason plan
The 49ers entered the offseason knowing they’d likely need a replacement for Greenlaw at weakside linebacker for the month of September.
Their initial plan was to insert free agent Eric Kendricks in that role. After agreeing to a deal with San Francisco, however, Kendricks changed his mind and signed a one-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys.
Advertisement
The 49ers resumed their search, eventually adding eight-year veteran De’Vondre Campbell. The 31-year-old Campbell was one of the few Week 1 starters who took part in all of the team’s spring sessions as he learned the defense. He’ll begin the season at weakside linebacker and likely will move to the No. 3 role, strongside linebacker, when Greenlaw is ready to return.
The 49ers have three other veteran linebackers on the roster, newcomer Ezekiel Turner, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles and Curtis Robinson. All three have spent more time on special teams than defense in their careers, especially Turner, who logged nearly 700 special teams snaps over the last two seasons.
There are also three young players at the position: 2023 draft picks Dee Winters and Jalen Graham, and Tatum Bethune, whom the 49ers took in the seventh round in April.
Warner recently singled out Winters, saying the fleet-footed linebacker had perhaps “the best OTAs out of anybody on the team.” Winters’ rookie role was mostly limited to special teams. This year he has a shot at the strongside linebacker job, especially when Greenlaw is still recovering from his Super Bowl injury. — Barrows
2024 outlook
Greenlaw’s likely absence to begin the regular season leaves a potential vulnerability here. The Kansas City Chiefs exposed it in the Super Bowl, picking on Burks down the stretch. He gave up nine receptions on nine targets for 67 yards and a touchdown.
How much does the 31-year-old Campbell have left in the tank? He was an All-Pro two seasons ago. But in coverage last season, Campbell gave up the highest passer rating — 129.5 — of all qualifying NFL linebackers. The 49ers trust that Campbell’s familiarity with their scheme — he played in Dan Quinn’s system with the Atlanta Falcons a few seasons ago — can lead to a partial resurgence from him, at least until Greenlaw comes back.
Advertisement
But the 49ers also cannot count on a dominant return from Greenlaw, as Achilles tears have proven to be significantly disruptive to linebackers. That’s why cultivating depth at this position has been a priority. Warner’s bullishness on Winters’ offseason is key, as are potential contributions from the likes of Graham, Bethune and other depth pieces.
Even if a player is slotted solely as a special teams contributor now, the 49ers might need him in a key linebacker role by the end of next season. That scenario played out last season in the Super Bowl when Burks replaced an injured Greenlaw. The 49ers would like to be as prepared for it as possible.
(Top photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)