Breaking Down San Francisco 49ers Linebacker Position in Advance of 2016 Season

The San Francisco 49ers didn’t select an inside linebacker during the 2016 NFL Draft, which makes this particular position one of intrigue. And with questions at the outside, how will the 49ers’ crop of linebackers shape up during training camp and into the 2016 NFL season? Niner Noise takes a look in our position-by-position preview.

The San Francisco 49ers linebacker position is one of both strength and weakness as the 2016 season approaches.

Yes, this is a bit of a conundrum. On one side, the Niners boast one of the best inside linebackers in the NFL, NaVorro Bowman, who led the league with 116 tackles last season en route to yet another All-Pro campaign.

And the 49ers also employ an up-and-coming pass-rusher in third-year pro Aaron Lynch, who was tied for the team lead last year with 6.5 sacks.

After that?

There’s the weakness. San Francisco doesn’t exactly have a ton of worthwhile options, at least not proven ones, outside of these two standouts.

So it’s only natural to suggest the linebacker position may easily be one of concern entering training camp this year.

One of the major needs the 49ers had during the offseason was on the inside. But general manager Trent Baalke didn’t pick up anyone to help at inside linebacker in free agency. And the NFL Draft didn’t end up producing any possibilities either.

We’ll get to those plausible reasons and potential implications in a bit, but let’s start by looking at the current cast of 49ers linebackers on the team’s 90-man roster.

Inside Linebacker

• Ray-Ray Armstrong
• Nick Bellore
• NaVorro Bowman
• Gerald Hodges
• Wynton McManis
• Shayne Skov
• Michael Wilhoite

Outside Linebacker

• Ahmad Brooks
• Tank Carradine (EDGE)
• Jason Fanaika
• Eli Harold
• Lenny Jones
• Corey Lemonier
• Aaron Lynch
• Marcus Rush

There isn’t any concern aside from, perhaps his knee, Bowman starting. The perennial Pro Bowler remains the leader of the 49ers defense. But who occupies the starting gig alongside him is another question.

Fellow linebacker Michael Wilhoite filled this void last season, after the surprising retirement of standout rookie linebacker Chris Borland. While Wilhoite finished second on the team in tackles last year (62), he also graded out with a minus-16.5 overall mark, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), which was the lowest on the Niners defense.

San Francisco signed Wilhoite, previously a restricted free agent, to a one-year extension during the offseason.

As a backup, Wilhoite appears to be serviceable enough. As a starter?

So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil is opening up a three-way competition to start here — one including Wilhoite, Gerald Hodges and safety convert Ray-Ray Armstrong.

A guess would have Hodges emerging as the starter in 2016, and a roster cut may end up falling on either Wilhoite or Armstrong — depending on who fails to impress enough during camp.

Both players could make the roster though. But with safety Jaquiski Tartt likely being asked to provide in-the-box support in sub packages, as Niner Noise’s Rich Madrid pointed out, how many spots would San Francisco keep open after camp? Four? Five?

Tartt’s role may be one of the reasons why Baalke didn’t exactly feel the need was there to draft an inside guy last April. Or, perhaps, he felt as if the competition between Wilhoite, Armstrong and Hodges would be good enough to produce a likable option.

Depth inside linebackers Shayne Skov and Wynton McManis are pretty weak-bubble guys right now, although it wouldn’t be surprising to see Nick Bellore make the cut here.

Moving to the outside, we have to take a close look at veteran linebacker Ahmad Brooks.

The 32-year-old Brooks was tied with Lynch for the team lead in sacks a year ago (6.5), but the senior member of the Niners linebacker corps also finished 2015 with a minus-10.2 overall grade, per PFF.

It’s pretty clear Brooks is nowhere close to the type of numbers he put up during his 2013 Pro Bowl campaign, although the 49ers probably would have parted ways with him already if that was the intent. Him being on the roster now suggests he’ll stay for the upcoming season.

Brooks may not start though. A lot of whether or not that happens will depend on the ongoing progression of second-year pro Eli Harold.

If SB Nation’s James Brady’s prediction comes true in 2016, Harold may easily pass over Brooks.

While not technically an outside linebacker, former 2013 second-round draft pick Tank Carradine is another player to watch in this group. After not working out as an every-down defensive end in a 3-4 scheme, Carradine’s switch to an edge-rusher role may have an impact on San Francisco’s depth chart here.

Carradine dropped weight during the offseason, and sticking with a specific EDGE role should benefit his natural skill set.

If it works, the move may negate the need to keep someone else on the 49ers depth chart.

One player who could go is third-year linebacker Corey Lemonier. Despite high accolades coming out of Auburn, Lemonier has registered just one sack at the pro level and has seen his role diminish ever since joining the Niners in 2013.

A fringe player at best, one has to wonder if training camp will provide the last-best hope for Lemonier to remain with the team.

The remaining cast of San Francisco’s outside linebackers — Jason Fanaika, Lenny Jones and Marcus Rush — are also bubble-watch players. Depending on how any of these players perform in pass-rush duties, the Niners may wind up holding onto one or two of them.

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Still, the 49ers pass rush needs some invigorating help. A year removed from a 28-sack effort, which ranked 29th in the league last year, the Niners crop of pass-rushers will look to get help from the team’s defensive line in order to open up rushing lanes more frequently in 2016.

There is some promise in guys like Harold, Carradine and, perhaps, one or more of the other outside guys to reach a higher potential.

But there are equally as many reasons why fans and coaches should curb their expectations as training camp approaches.

We’ll see how this cast pans out, but look for the linebacker position to be yet another area of need in 2017.

Next: Full Depth Chart & Roster Predictions for the 2016 49ers

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.