It's often unpopular to suggest that an NFL team can replace a player they've lost with someone who is already part of the organisation.
Fans, after all, like the feeling of a big free-agent acquisition or a high-end draft pick. It feels as though the team is taking the replacement need seriously, and in theory, higher investment should mean a higher chance of success.
Of course, it doesn't.
Think about the San Francisco 49ers' history in this regard: trying to replace DeForest Buckner with a first-round draft pick like Javon Kinlaw, for instance. It's not great.
Also, San Francisco has a few needs going into the 2025 NFL Draft anyway. It's fair to say a starter-level player can't necessarily be found at each of those positions, even if the 49ers have four picks in the top 100.
One of those needs is the need to replace now-Denver Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw, a truly fantastic player and leader during his six seasons with San Francisco. His tandem with Fred Warner has been a huge reason why the 49ers, and particularly their defense, has been so successful.
Not a particularly easy hole to fill, then.
That said, Greenlaw himself was a less-heralded fifth-round draft pick once, and after serving a short apprenticeship, found his way into the starting lineup. He also saw peers like Azeez Al-Shaair and even Warner himself progress from players with potential to unquestioned starters (and net some big contracts on the way).
Due to a combination of draft choices and unheralded free-agent signings, the Niners find themselves with potential options to replace Greenlaw already on the roster.
Let's take a look at them.
Curtis Robinson
Arguably the most experienced, and certainly the oldest of the three options available, Robinson was a topic on this very site several times last season.
After doing the reverse move of Greenlaw (the 49ers signing him after the Broncos allowed him to leave), Robinson bounced around the practice squad and main roster for a while before parlaying a strong preseason in 2024 into, finally, a solid main roster spot.
It was richly deserved for Robinson, as he applied himself tremendously and in many cases showed more consistency than the slightly hotter-tipped players behind him like Dee Winters (more on him in a moment) and Jalen Graham.
Unfortunately, that's where his upward momentum would (largely) end.
Despite his form in preseason and the clear deficiencies of De'Vondre Campbell, San Francisco inexplicably stuck with the latter long after his usefulness.
It did seem as though he was getting mixed into the defense more around the Week 3 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams, but unfortunately, a torn ACL picked up in practice the following week ended Robinson's season and provided opportunities for other young players to be ignored in the pursuit of inexplicably playing Campbell.
It's unfortunate that there's not much of a sample size on Robinson, and it's therefore hard to project his overall ceiling or ability. But what can be said about him is that he has consistently improved over his time with the team, appears to grasp the defensive scheme well, and is well-liked by the organisation.
Most would've given him very long odds to make the roster in 2024, given the logjam at the position, but the fact Robinson did is evidence to his application and hard work throughout his NFL career.
Robinson will need to fully recover from the ACL injury and show that he hasn't lost a step, but given his recent re-signing, he will be in the mix at linebacker, and if he can continue to show the same indefatigable efforts he has throughout his short career, he might actually have the inside track on landing a starting role.
Dee Winters
If San Francisco does not add a high-profile draft choice to the mix in May, most people's favorite to take over from Greenlaw would likely be this man.
The sixth-round draft choice in 2023 has had flashes of moments on the field since arriving with the 49ers, and Winters actually ended up logging 10 total starts last year, along with 44 tackles and four passes defensed.
Most of that, in truth, was due to the ineptitude of almost every "veteran" option outside of Warner (most will remember Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, and yes, that man again, Campbell, forlornly chasing players in coverage for much of the season). But that shouldn't take away from the fact Winters showed significant development in his second season.
He might have been considered on the roster bubble going into the offseason, but his flashy preseason work coupled with a better understanding of his role (including, at one point, deputising for Warner at the middle linebacker spot during preseason) separated him from his contemporary of the same draft, Jalen Graham, and kept his head above water against the aforementioned Robinson and surprising rookie, Tatum Bethune.
Winters managed to turn that into a pretty successful year, and it's hard to imagine any 49er fan having an issue with him getting a chance to take the next step and become a fully fledged member of the starting lineup.
He's fast, instinctive, good in coverage and a solid hitter, all things that would seem to enthuse new defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as he seeks to mould a defensive unit more consistent and talented than last year's disappointing effort.
General manager John Lynch's endorsement probably won't hurt, either.
That said, the key for Winters is adding consistency. While he did make some excellent splash plays, he also had a number of inconsistent and wild plays while on the field. Given the 49ers are often *extremely* conservative with their usage of raw talent, often favouring so-called reliability even if it's demonstrably mediocre, Winters will need to find a solid equilibrium to hold down a starting role.
Tatum Bethune
The former Florida State prospect is something of a wild-card choice here, but I'll make it for two reasons: one, I am an unabashed Bethune fan (I stumped for him to get a roster spot last year, which he eventually did) and two, even those around the team are giving him some buzz, with The Athletic's Matt Barrows labelling him one of five unheralded 49ers who may have key roles in 2025.
Most seem to dismiss Bethune on account of his poor NFL Combine performance and resulting low draft choice. He ran a dreadful 4.75 in the 40, and as a result, ended up being available for the 49ers to draft in the seventh round last year.
However, on-field football is a hell of a lot different to the Underwear Olympics, and Bethune proved that by showing good instincts throughout the preseason. He seemed to be around the ball, no better evidenced than the game against the New Orleans Saints, where he recorded nine total tackles. You honestly couldn't watch the end of the 49ers' 2024 preseason games without noticing Bethune appear on screen during a play.
He turned that impressive showing into a roster spot, beating out the previously more-heralded Graham. From there, Bethune would then appear in 11 games (mostly on special teams), starting one. He would ultimately record seven tackles and two fumble recoveries.
He also scored well with PFF, too, grading out as the fourth-highest rated 49er in his limited time.
His first job will be maintaining that roster spot. Beyond whichever new blood arrives, Bethune has a battle on his hands against the same players he faced last year, plus new additions like special teamer Luke Gifford. But if the second-year pro can do that, it'll be intriguing to watch his development. Someone with instincts to find the ball and who is a sure tackler can go a long way in the NFL, even if he isn't a premier athlete, and Bethune has that in spades.
It wouldn't be the first time the 49ers have found value in a player largely underrated by the rest of the league.
That was Greenlaw too, once.
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