5 49ers playing for their jobs at training camp

No. 3: 49ers LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles

Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles has fought his way onto the Niners roster, starting out on the practice squad and slowly carving out a niche as a backup linebacker and special-teams ace. He is the type of player teams love to keep as backup: hungry, talented, and capable of helping out the team in multiple ways.

As Niner Noise noted in describing Flannigan-Fowles, Azeez Al-Shaair's departure has left San Francisco's SAM (strongside) linebacker position open on the defense, with many competitors to be the third starting linebacker alongside Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw.

Flannigan-Fowles will be in the mix for that position. That is where things get a little difficult, though.

The 49ers have added several linebackers in the draft as well as from the practice squad, all of whom will be competing for that third position. Rookies Dee Winters and Jalen Graham both fit the model of late-round linebackers the Niners have banked on for immense production. Marcelo McCray-Ball, a player on the practice squad last year, might be the front-runner to steal a starting spot, and Oren Burks, the backup to Fred Warner right now, might make the entire question moot.

If the 49ers identify a clear upside in a couple of these options ahead of Flannigan-Fowles, it makes his roster position far less certain.

That is exaggerated by the addition of Jack Colleto as an undrafted free agent. Even though Colleto is a fullback, his versatility makes him a valuable player to use a roster spot on, and his likely role in his rookie year would be special teams. If the Niners keep Colleto on the roster for special teams, then some other position would need to lose an additional player.

Linebacker, and Flannigan-Fowles' roster spot, is the easy choice.