2025 Draft: Linebackers

Part IV of our draft preview series looks at linebacker, a position of outsized importance in our defense but one that we have an excellent track record of drafting and developing. Per usual, any number before a player dictates their “consensus big board” ranking. Asterisks (*) by names mark some of my favorite prospect/scheme fits.

The departure of Dre Greenlaw looms large, but when it comes to drafting and developing, if there’s a position where the Niners should get the benefit of the doubt, it’s probably linebacker. With Fred Warner (3rd), Greenlaw (5th), Dee Winters (6th), and Azeez Al-Shaiir (UDFA), the Niners have consistently unearthed strong players in the middle-to-late rounds. We have a very specific skillset that we want at the position and Johnny Holland is one of the best in the business at shaping our rookies into heat-seeking missiles on the field.

THE SKILLSET

Warner, Greenlaw, Winters, and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles were all converted safeties who moved down to linebacker at some point during (or after) college. Marcell Harris, who the Niners drafted as a safety but ended up deploying mostly as a matchup-specific nickel linebacker, functionally goes in that bucket as well. A background in the secondary isn’t a prerequisite for Niners linebackers, but it does show how important speed and coverage skills are when we evaluate draft prospects.

Plodding, throwback, two-down linebackers don’t really have a place in our defense. Our linebackers need to be fast, comfortable in space, and have the instincts and confidence to trigger on their reads and sprint to the football. And while reads, technique, and moving with conviction can be taught, instincts are like anticipation with quarterbacks–sometimes younger players can develop them over time, but quite often you either have it or you don’t.

THE NEED

Dee Winters will get the first crack at the starting Will linebacker position vacated by Dre Greenlaw, but he’s had a string of injury issues and is still proving himself against the run. We’re likely trying to add a linebacker who can push Winters immediately for starting snaps and either beat him out or start at the Sam linebacker spot in base packages. 

FIRST ROUND

17. Jihaad Campbell, Alabama
6-3, 235 lbs.
Big, athletic splash play generator with one significant flaw

If you’re counting Jalon Walker as an edge, then Campbell is the consensus top linebacker in the draft due to his size, athleticism (4.52 forty), youth (just recently turned 21), and penchant for making big plays in all three phases of the game. He can go sideline-to-sideline in the run game, is a natural in coverage, and is an excellent pass rusher—all skills that showed up on the stat sheet while leading Bama in tackles, TFLs, and sacks this season. However, his weakness is the red flag I mentioned earlier: instincts. He is too often slow to pick up the ball and trigger, he gets caught taking the cheese and peeking at backfield movements, and–to compound it all-when he is late in reading his keys, he struggles to take on blocks and get back in plays.

He’s young, so he has a bit of an excuse in that department, but—as mentioned earlier—you never know if a guy’s instincts are gonna improve or not once they get to the NFL. If they do, he could be a genuinely elite triple-threat linebacker. If they don’t, his career could wind up somewhere in the Tremaine Edmunds/Devin White realm—great athletes with a knack for flashy plays whose lack of diagnostic skills prevents them from stringing it together consistently. And the last thing I want from my linebackers is inconsistency. Which is why some people think he actually profiles best as a 3-4 stand-up rush end, where at least he can work on his reads and vision while typically coming forward.

SECOND ROUND

*42. Carson Schwesinger, UCLA
6-2.5, 242 lbs.
Former walk-on turned All-American with great athleticism and lightning-quick instincts 

Schwesinger redshirted as a freshman walk-on, didn’t start a single game his next two years, and didn’t even begin the season as a starter at UCLA. But by the end of 2024, he was a First-Team All-American, a Butkus Award finalist, and led the FBS in solo tackles (90), with the highest FBS solo tackle rate (7.5/game) over the last four years.

The small sample size is confusing (was UCLA really so talented at linebacker that they couldn’t have played this guy earlier?), but his play feels sustainable because it’s built on elite instincts, a knack for flowing through traffic to the ball, and high-level play in all three facets. He’s an excellent athlete who is super quick and has loose hips to drop into coverage or slip past blockers with at least solid top-end speed. In some schemes, top-end speed is only marginally important for linebackers, but we ask our guys to carry receivers further down the field than most, so GPS data will be vital. And while he needs to add some strength and bulk so that he doesn’t get thrown around by blockers when he gets caught up in the muck, our defense typically protects smaller linebackers and lets them fly aggressively to ball–what Schwesinger does best. He also showed up bigger than his listed weight at the combine, but still registered a 39.5” vert, meaning he may have already started the process of addressing any size concerns. The top of the second is probably earlier than we’d like to draft a linebacker, but–as long as we like his speed–the talent and fit are excellent.

THIRD ROUND

68. Demetrius Knight Jr., South Carolina
6-2, 235 lbs.
Quick-triggering downhill linebacker who plays better in a mess than in space

A six-year player–for better or worse–Knight has great instincts in the run game, with a quick trigger, an innate ability to sift through blockers, good pop as a tackler, and solid strength taking on blockers. His physical demeanor and football character are sure to entice our coaching staff, but there are some concerns that he’s a bit too linear for our scheme. He gets overaggressive in his angles to the sideline and doesn’t show great change of direction or burst in coverage. Like Schwesinger, there’s some worry that his overall speed is overstated due to his excellent instincts, but–in this case–Knight may not show the fluidity in space to compensate for it in the passing game. There’s a lot to like here, but Knight’s best fit is probably on a defense that asks its linebackers to play backwards and in space less often.

97. Smael Mondon Jr., Georgia
6-2, 224 lbs.
Athletic cover guy and excellent tackler with injury and instinct concerns

A three-year starter who led the 2022 National Champion Bulldogs in tackles as a sophomore, Mondon’s an excellent athlete with high-end coverage potential who never misses a tackle. While on the smaller side, he has all the physical tools to be a starting linebacker in the NFL, but he’s a tick slow on seeing things and has been injured a lot. With this many years of starting, you’d hope his run game instincts and coverage awareness would be better. To be fair, a move from Mike to the more “run-and-hit” Will position could help in that regard but that’s not a guarantee. While he’s tough, he’s missed a lot of games due to injury, and—in true Georgia Bulldogs fashion—was arrested for reckless driving last summer before pleading out to a misdemeanor.

99. Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma
6-3, 233 lbs.
Throwback between the tackles thumper with plus athleticism but minus coverage chops

One of college football’s most productive run defenders, Stutsman is a very good athlete with great run game instincts who is at his best coming forward and thumping ballcarriers between the tackles. Unfortunately, the rest of his game has some question marks. The further the run gets outside, the more his angles and tackling efficiency slip, and in coverage, he is quite frankly a liability. While a good athlete, he doesn’t have the hips to play the pass, and he does not have a feel for zone coverage. Stutsman feels like the best fit for a scheme that funnels the run game to their inside backers and goes out of their way to protect them in the passing game. So… kinda the opposite of ours.

*100. Chris Paul Jr., Ole Miss
6-1, 222 lbs.
Speedy space linebacker with a well-rounded game despite size and strength concerns

One of only three FBS linebackers to score a PFF rating of 78+ in run defense, coverage, and pass rushing, Paul is a great athlete who excels in space and closes on the ball in a hurry. He’s fast, nimble, and impressively fluid in coverage–which is probably where he separates himself the most—but he plays with a relentless demeanor and is always around the ball. His biggest weakness is unquestionably his lack of size and length, which leads to issues taking on blockers and can show up when he’s tackling ballcarriers without a full head of steam. Since he started his career at Arkansas, his build and play style have already generated a lot of Dre Greenlaw comps. It seems fitting that he might be his replacement. The lack of size is a thing (despite comps, he’s 15 pounds lighter than Greenlaw), but Paul feels like a great schematic fit with excellent potential who could play right away.

DAY 3

A converted safety who moved down to the Mike linebacker spot to get their best athletes on the field, *Jeffrey Bassa (Oregon) has the coverage ability of a DB but the physicality and mindset of a linebacker. Fast, fluid, and an excellent tackler, Bassa needs to clean up some of his reads and habits, and was close but never really fully got there as a dominant force in college. But a shift to Will—where his lack of ideal bulk is less likely to get exposed—could help in that regard. He’s a bit more of a project but one that could pay dividends. (3rd-4th)

A former five-star recruit and three-year starter at Clemson, Barrett Carter (Clemson) is another undersized linebacker who hangs his hat on his athleticism and coverage ability. While his smaller stature caps his ability to take on linemen, he does well in space, showing great coverage skills and awareness–even if his ball skills themselves are only average. However, his instincts in the run game are a notch below, and he’s just not a good tackler (11% missed tackle rate). You also worry about his trajectory, as his PFF rating peaked as a sophomore before steadily declining as a junior and senior. (4th)

The other super athletic linebacker for the Bruins, Kain Medrano (UCLA) has truly impressive burst and speed (4.46 forty, 38” vertical), which allows him to affect the game in exciting flashes. But he’s small, can struggle with contact, and needs to get much better at tackling. While some of those misses could be fixed by him reining in his overaggressiveness a bit, the sheer number and consistency of the misses is alarming. (4th)

A two-time UC Davis captain who was also named captain for the Bears in his only year in Berkeley, Teddye Buchanan (Cal) has plus instincts and feel—likely from his long time playing quarterback—to pair with good (but not great) overall athleticism. He’s not super twitchy or sudden, but he’s a good mover in coverage, a strong tackler, and a sneaky blitzer (25 pressures, 5 sacks). He may be more of a Mike than a Will, but he’s intriguing. (5th)

While his mediocre testing raises some questions, Shemar James (Florida) looks quite athletic on tape, with seemingly good down-the-road potential as a speedy sideline-to-sideline defender. He feels a bit lost out there at times and needs to vastly improve his recognition skills to see defensive snaps, but he’s got the physical profile of a dude who can become a critical special teamer while he develops. (5th)

Nick Martin (Oklahoma State) is another vastly undersized linebacker with plus athletic traits. He comes from the Cowboys’ odd 3-3-5 defense, so there’s a little projection here, but he runs well, is physical at the point of attack, and seems comfortable in space. In the fifth he feels like a bit of a discount, but that’s also because he missed most of this season with a knee injury. (5th)

*Eugene Asante (Auburn) blazed to a 4.48 forty at the combine and that speed certainly matches his tape. Like most guys on this list, he’s undersized (6-1, 223 lbs.), but he’s an Energizer bunny type who flies around the field and plays with an infectious level of energy. Being perennially cranked to 100 gets him into trouble and out of position at times, and his overall production is underwhelming for a linebacker. But this guy feels like an immediate special teams ace who could grow into a defensive missile if he hones the instincts and control. (5th-6th)

A three-year James Madison player before following Curt Cignetti to the Hoosiers, *Jailin Walker (Indiana) is the lightest of a very small crop of linebacker prospects (6-0, 219 lbs.) but seems like he could add some weight while still keeping his rocket speed (4.40 forty, 10.53 10-yard split). When he sees it, he flies to it, and he’s got a knack for the ball, tallying six forced fumbles and five picks over the past three years. He’s clearly got the physical tools for immediate special teams work, and his production improved after a massive jump in competition a year ago. Could wind up a positionless nomad, but the appeal is there. (7th)

With 33 tackles for loss over the past two years, *Chandler Martin (Memphis) is a quick-trigger linebacker who plays active, reads fast, and flies to ball. Sometimes that aggressiveness runs him past the play or into blockers who can swallow up his smaller frame. And despite his impressive athleticism (4.54 forty, 37” vert) he’s not particularly great at coverage. But fast and instinctual is a good place to start. (UDFA)

An impressive size-speed guy, Justin Barron (Syracuse) was moved all over the field for the Orange, playing linebacker, safety, and big nickel as a three-year starter. Given that, you’d hope he was a little better and smoother in coverage, but he plays hard and runs fast. He’d contribute to specials immediately and perhaps—when put in just a single position—he could grow into the role to become something more. (UDFA)

BLIND GUESS

Lost in the departure of Dre Greenlaw is the fact that we also let Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles walk this off-season, meaning there are only two players on our roster who we’re comfortable with playing legitimate defensive minutes, and one of them is super injury-prone. The team seems optimistic on former seventh-rounders Jalen Graham and Tatum Bethune, but they feel more like projected depth pieces than players to rely on. I think we draft a guy we think can start right away and another (either drafted or as an UDFA) as a special teams ace with developmental upside.

There are quite a few linebackers in this class who seem like scheme fits, but only a few who feel like immediate starters, which is why I’d expect us to draft a linebacker by the end of the third round, top of the fourth at the latest. Schwesinger at 43 (or slightly higher, based on trades down/up) is probably the earliest we’d take a linebacker, while Bassa or maybe Carter feels like the lower-end of the spectrum for immediate contributors. If there hasn’t been a run on the position and we like all those dudes in the fourth round range, we could very well try and wait it out until the end of the fourth to address the position, but given how hard we tried to retain Dre Greenlaw (after he signed with the Broncos…), we clearly aren’t happy with our linebacker room. So waiting could be risky.

Go Niners 🏈👍