One of the stars of the offseason workout program for the San Francisco 49ers was second-year linebacker Dee Winters.
A 2023 sixth-round pick who played only sparing defensive snaps as a rookie, Winters was described by All-Pro middle linebacker Fred Warner as having the best OTAs of anyone on the team.
Winters has carried his momentum from OTAs and minicamp into training camp, with head coach Kyle Shanahan last week echoing Warner's words of praise.
Shanahan said of Winters:
“He made a huge jump. Always waiting to see the guys to do that in the second year and I thought he really did in OTAs. I think it was nice for him not having Fred and [LB] Dre [Greenlaw] out there. So he gets a lot of reps. And he was ready for those reps. When you go through your rookie year sometimes things click for guys and I think being behind guys like Dre and Fred being able to watch how they work. He’s kind of clone himself after those guys, just the work ethic being a pro and just so dialed in and locked into everything. He was so ready for OTAs and when you’re that ready for OTAs, then you get so much better in OTAs which will allow him to be a lot better here in training camp."
Winters could have an important early-season role to play in 2024. With Dre Greenlaw set to miss at least the opening month of the season with the Achilles injury he suffered in Super Bowl 58, Winters could well start the campaign as the 49ers' starting SAM linebacker on base downs, with veteran free agent signing De'Vondre Campbell likely to take Greenlaw's place as the starting WILL next to Warner.
Beyond the immediate future, though, Winters is a candidate to be Warner's long-term partner. Campbell is only on a one-year contract and Greenlaw is a free agent in 2025, when the 49ers' ability to re-sign him to a lucrative contract could be limited because of Brock Purdy's prospective long-term extension.
And, as Shanahan alluded to, Warner has been critical to the ascension of his potential future running mate.
“I could use him for every example,” Winters said of Warner, per NBC Sports Bay Area. "He's a guy who’s all-ball. He goes out there and makes plays. Everybody loves him. Why can’t that be me? It makes me want to implement those things in my game — make plays on the field and do everything right off the field.”
Winters agreed with Warner's assessment that he struggled to learn the plays as a rookie, when he was tasked with going from playing as a de-facto nickel in TCU's 3-3-5 to operating in the box for the Niners.
But he again credited Warner as being a big factor in the huge difference he felt entering training camp this year.
"My head was on a swivel every day, all day [in 2023],” he added. "And then trying to balance my role and follow the vets, it was a lot. This year, I have a good grasp of my role, what I need to do, how to be a pro and looking toward Fred and all those guys.
"I came in [this year] with a lot of confidence. Everything isn't new to me. We are still running the same scheme, the same plays. I think over time, getting those reps for a full year and coming back, consistently watching Fred and Dre, gave me a bunch of confidence to play fast. And I think that’s why I’m excelling right now.
"My time is going to come. And I just have to capitalize on it when I get that opportunity."
His opportunity to prove himself in a regular-season game may come in the near future and, if Winters does earn the chance to be a long-term starter for the 49ers as Greenlaw's replacement, he will owe at least a small debt of gratitude to the leader of the San Francisco defense.
-1715651145-q80.webp "29-TD QB Named as Cowboys’ Potential Replacement for Dak Prescott")
