49ers’ 2018 ‘Who Is?’ series: Linebacker Mark Nzeocha
By Peter Panacy
Niner Noise’s 2018 “Who Is?” series on the San Francisco 49ers focuses on special teamer and backup linebacker Mark Nzeocha and his likely impact this upcoming season.
The San Francisco 49ers had some pretty serious concerns at linebacker this offseason, namely with the developments surrounding 2017 rookie Reuben Foster and his alleged off-field transgressions.
With those in the past now, the Niners need not worry as much about linebacker depth heading into 2018.
This doesn’t exactly bode well for fourth-year veteran Mark Nzeocha, who came to San Francisco in 2017 by way of the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad.
Interestingly enough, Foster’s ankle injury a year ago prompted that move.
Nzeocha, a seventh-round draft pick by the Cowboys back in 2015, saw five games’ action his first two years in Dallas, almost entirely on special teams.
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Generated 6/21/2018.
The 28 year old will have his work cut out for him if he expects to make the back end of San Francisco’s roster.
What exactly would that take?
Why Mark Nzeocha Improves in 2018
Nzeocha’s impact has mostly been felt on special teams only. Fortunately, this was one of the better units the Niners had in 2017 over the course of the entire year. So Nzeocha seeing 10 games in this stead should bode well for his chances.
According to Pro Football Focus‘ special teams metric, Nzeocha finished with a plus-1.0 grade last year. That helps.
At 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, Nzeocha has a combination of good size, strength and speed to contribute adequately enough on special teams. And while he didn’t run a 40-yard dash (due to injury) at his NFL Scouting Combine or pro day, the projected number was 4.56. That’s solid for a linebacker of his size.
Why He Regresses
The 49ers already have a pretty deep crop of linebackers vying for spots behind Foster, Malcolm Smith and rookie Fred Warner. Chief among these are Brock Coyle and Korey Toomer, who could push Nzeocha down the depth chart.
San Francisco 49ers
Both Coyle and Toomer have significantly more starting experience on defense, where Nzeocha saw a mere nine defensive snaps last season, per PFF.
If Nzeocha is viewed strictly as a special teams ace, the lack of defensive impact could push him down the priority list on making the 53-man roster this season.
Speaking of that…
Chances of Making the 49ers’ 53-Man Roster in 2018
So much of this depends on how players like Coyle and Toomer fit into the equation this season. It’s possible Nzeocha beats one of these two out, but even that doesn’t mark a guaranteed spot on the roster.
And that’s an unlikely proposition anyway, given Nzeocha’s lack of play on defense.
A best-case for Nzeocha, and not necessarily for San Francisco, would be if the team suffered some kind of injury at the position between now and Week 1. That would feasibly open up a roster spot, and Nzeocha could find his niche.
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Even so, he’s certainly on the weaker end of the bubble. And it wouldn’t be a shock if he winds up being one of those players cut, possibly re-signed at some point down the line if an extra spot on the roster opens up.