Early 49ers 53-man roster predictions following 2022 NFL Draft

49ers Linebackers (4)

MLB Fred Warner

SLB Dre Greenlaw

WLB Azeez Al-Shaair

LB/ST Oren Burks

One place where San Francisco’s roster has often been thin in terms of numbers is at linebacker, where the presence and durability of middle linebacker and defensive captain Fred Warner has made it somewhere they could afford to save a roster spot.

The breakout of not just Dre Greenlaw but also Azeez Al-Shaair, a former UDFA himself, in recent seasons makes that even more the case, although the injury bug has bit both players, especially Greenlaw in 2021, who missed most of that season with a core muscle injury.

This could be a position where the team opts to keep a fifth player and sacrifice a fifth safety or an 11th defensive lineman, with someone like Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles an obvious candidate to fill that fifth slot if they go that direction.

The roster also includes Curtis Robinson, a second-year player out of Stanford, and a trio of UDFA’s from 2022 — Jeremiah Gemmel out of North Carolina, Marcelino McCrary-Ball from Indiana, and Segun Olubi out of San Diego State — all of whom would likely need to excel on special teams to stick around.

Speaking of special teams standouts, the 49ers signed Oren Burks, who has shown flashes at linebacker but has been a stalwart in kick coverage during his time with the Green Bay Packers. While he stands to get most of his playing time on those units, he’s capable, if needed to step in on defense.