Will 49ers LB Dee Winters Start in 2024?

The 49ers need a young linebacker to step up.

They lost Dre Greenlaw to an Achilles tear and he won't return until midseason most likely. And his replacement, De'Vondre Campbell, is 31 and on the downside of his career. The Packers recently released him. He's a temporary band-aid. And he should be serviceable, but nothing more.

If the 49ers are looking for someone better to fill in for Greenlaw, they'll need one of their young linebackers to improve. And so far this offseason, it seems like second-year linebacker Dee Winters is the most likely one to make the leap.

"I think Dee has probably had the best OTA out of anybody on the team," Fred Warner said. "I feel like he's come along since last year. I remember he came in as a rookie, was struggling to learn the plays, trying to get in shape and all of those little things that you got to learn as a professional and just coming in this year he's been on it. He's making plays left and right. He came in great shape this OTA, so he's set himself up to have a great training camp. You know he's gonna train hard this summer and have a chance."

When the 49ers drafted Winters in Round 6 last year, lots of people compared him to Greenlaw because they both play extremely fast and are shorter than six feet tall. But Winters didn't make an impact on the defense as a rookie because he wasn't ready and the 49ers didn't need him.

Now the 49ers need him. Let's see what he's got.