Which 49ers players are on the bubble entering training camp?
By Peter Panacy
49ers training camp bubble watch: Linebacker
Lock: Azeez Al-Shaair, Oren Burks, Dre Greenlaw, Fred Warner
Strong bubble: Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
Weak bubble: Jeremiah Gemmel*, Curtis Robinson
Long shot: Marcelino McCrary-Ball*, Segun Olubi*
Pro Football Focus recently ranked the Niners’ linebacker corps No. 1 overall in the NFL heading into 2022, and it’s not hard to understand why.
Headlined by All-Pro Fred Warner, San Francisco effectively has two high-quality starting-caliber options to support him, Dre Greenlaw and Azeez Al-Shaair, and those two will rotate in on sub packages when only two linebackers are on the field any given time.
That kind of flexibility is good to have.
After this starting trio, though, things are a bit murkier.
The 49ers appreciate Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles’ coverage and special teams abilities, so he might be the favorite for a fourth and possibly final spot on the 53-man roster. However, perhaps someone like undrafted free-agent Jeremiah Gemmel, whose leadership capabilities at North Carolina didn’t go unnoticed, winds up surprising during camp and either forces the Niners to keep five backers or does enough to push off someone like Flannigan-Fowles.
It’s likely special teams prowess winds up playing a deciding factor here.