Niner Noise
FanSided

Predicting best- and worst-case roles for 49ers’ 2019 NFL Draft picks

By Robert Morrison

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Nick Bosa is greeted by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being picked 2nd overall by the San Francisco 49ers on day 1 of the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Nick Bosa is greeted by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being picked 2nd overall by the San Francisco 49ers on day 1 of the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /
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BATON ROUGE, LA – NOVEMBER 14: Brandon Harris #6 of the LSU Tigers fumbles the ball after being hit by Dre Greenlaw #23 of the Arkansas Razorbacks during the second quarter of a game at Tiger Stadium on November 14, 2015 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LA – NOVEMBER 14: Brandon Harris #6 of the LSU Tigers fumbles the ball after being hit by Dre Greenlaw #23 of the Arkansas Razorbacks during the second quarter of a game at Tiger Stadium on November 14, 2015 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

LB Dre Greenlaw

Best case: Greenlaw manages to unseat Malcolm Smith as the starting SAM linebacker, allowing the 49ers to move on from the former Oakland Raider, who has failed to make any kind of impact in his tenure in San Francisco so far.

The linebacker takes his feel-good off-the-field story and turns it into an exciting first year in the league.

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Greenlaw proves to be a tackling machine, and even shows more promise as an off-ball coverage guy, giving defensive coordinator Robert Saleh options in his linebacking corp, as he can mix and match Greenlaw with WILL linebacker Kwon Alexander, and creating a quality trio with second-year MIKE linebacker Fred Warner.

Forcing fumbles, breaking up passes and otherwise wreaking havoc on opposing offenses, the former Arkansas Razorback takes advantage of the uncertainty in the 49ers linebacker room and turns it into a stellar rookie campaign.

Worst case: Greenlaw fails to make a dent in the starting lineup, leaving SAM duties to Smith, and proves to be only a special teams contributor in year one.

Worse yet, he’s not even a top option there, with more notoriety going to veteran special teams aces like Raheem Mostert and David Mayo.

Prediction: While it might take Greenlaw some time, I think he’ll eventually prove too good to keep off the field, even if it is only in the limited snaps given to the SAM in Saleh’s scheme. He’ll also prove to be a quality addition to the special teams corps.