SANTA CLARA — There’s an air of mystery for the 49ers regarding the statuses of Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk. Maybe they’ll work out their contract issues and get on the field soon, maybe not.
There is no such drama at linebacker, where they realize Dre Greenlaw is destined to be a spectator for a minimum of four weeks as he rehabs his torn Achilles in Super Bowl LVIII. And that’s the best-case scenario.
It’s no small thing. Greenlaw has been the trusted sidekick to All-Pro Fred Warner since 2020 and in particular the last two, and much of the 49ers’ aggression emanates from him.
At practice Sunday, the 49ers got at least a partial glimpse at the solution when second-year linebacker Dee Winters jumped a pass route with the offense backed up. If he’d held on, it would have been a defensive touchdown. Winters has also been spotted going stride for stride with Christian McCaffrey in one-on-one drills.
“I’ve had a couple of plays during camp,” Winters said. “I think it’s just come with reps. I’m starting to get confident, and once I see a formation, I know what’s coming and am anticipating has been a huge emphasis on this year’s install. I think I’m doing a good job.”
With Warner resting his body and Greenlaw rehabbing, Winters took full advantage of offseason snaps in OTA. Warner was watching closely and went so far as to say Winters “had the best OTAs of anybody on the team.”
“I think I just dialed in more on the details,” Winters said Sunday. “Studying plays more, the little details within the scheme and managing those things to give me an edge on people I’m competing with and taking advantage of that.”
Veteran De’Vondre Campbell, an All-Pro with Green Bay in 2021, was signed with Greenlaw’s absence in mind and he’ll pair with Warner at the outset according to defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen.
“De’Vondre’s out there with Fred,” Sorensen said when asked about which two linebackers would remain on the field in a nickel defense.
But Winters, as well as fellow second-year linebacker Jalen Graham and veteran Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, are in the mix when the 49ers use three linebackers. Winters’ size (5-foot-11, 227 pounds), makes the sixth-round draft pick out of TCU almost a physical clone of Greenlaw and his coverage skills could make him a threat to supplant Campbell depending on how long Greenlaw is out.
At Saturday’s practice, Greenlaw made his way to the sideline and was openly rooting for Winters, who like Graham absorbed everything he could last season from the two mainstays.
“Last year that’s all I was trying to do was steal gems from those two guys, Dre and Fred, and elevate my game and get up to that caliber,” Winters said. “Their support means a lot. It’s something that keeps giving me confidence. it’s letting me know, ‘Hey, you’re doing a good job, just competing. You’ve got guys like that rooting for you, you can’t go wrong.'”
For his part, Campbell is lending whatever expertise he can to Winters, Graham and rookie seventh-round pick Tatum Bethune has a 31-year-old veteran of 115 games (110 starts) with Atlanta, Arizona and Green Bay.
“He has a bunch of experience,” Winters said. “He’s pretty much seen it all. To be able to read offensive tendencies has been huge in our room and he’s been helping us, me, Jalen and Tatum and doing a good job.”
Sorensen believes the corps of linebackers are on the same page.
“I think you see that with a lot of the guys that we brought in, period. They’re our type of guys,” Sorensen said. “They care and it makes sense to them.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan is always hopeful second-year players such as Winters and Graham will progress dramatically in terms of performance, but it can be a double-edged sword after the relief of completing a rookie season.
“You want them to make that huge leap,” Shanahan said. “But the second year sometimes is the worst year too, because a lot of people, they finish college, they’re trying so hard to make it in the league, they don’t think about much. That first season ends and they kind of sit back and relax. That’s why a lot of guys have a sophomore slump. It usually goes one way or the other.”
Winters admits he felt he was in over his head at times as a rookie.
“Last year my head was kind of everywhere trying to find my role on the team,” Winters said. “Special teams, defense, there’s a new install every day. Everything was so fast to me. It was great to get a year under my belt and go out and start playing fast.”
