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Why 49ers' Dre Greenlaw sees parallels between himself and ‘baller' Nick Martin
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- Why 49ers' Dre Greenlaw sees parallels between himself and ‘baller' Nick Martin
Why 49ers' Dre Greenlaw sees parallels between himself and 'baller' Nick Martin originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
An underrated 49ers storyline entering the 2026 NFL season is the linebackers room.
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Fred Warner, of course, is arguably the best middle linebacker in the league, but he is coming off a brutal ankle injury suffered last season. And around him, there are other question marks; Dre Greenlaw needs to stay healthy in his return to the Bay, and there isn't much experience behind them.
So, San Francisco might need to count on someone like Nick Martin, a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, to step up this season. Martin had a very limited role in his rookie year, recording just 11 total tackles and a forced fumble across seven games, mostly on special teams.
However, Greenlaw had nothing but good things to say when asked Saturday about his impressions of the second-year linebacker a week into training camp.
"Yeah, baller, for sure," Greenlaw told reporters. "Just got all the tools that he needs, the speed, just the instincts, playmaking ability, you know, just young and still needs reps and just needs time to just continue to grow. But he definitely is going to be a person that I feel like that's going to make an impact in this league sooner or later.
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"And yeah, it's been great to work beside him, to see how he's gotten better, you know, just from his last year to this year, and just to see his growth and how it's gonna take off. I mean, he's going to be that linebacker that we're going to be counting on … we're going to count on him a lot of ways to help contribute, and I know he's going to make a big impact for us."
Ironically, Martin was drafted with the hopes of being Greenlaw's replacement when the veteran departed for the Denver Broncos in NFL free agency a year ago. So perhaps it's no coincidence the two possess similar traits as rather undersized linebackers that nevertheless play with a physical edge.
Greenlaw sees the resemblances as well, as he detailed in Saturday's press conference.
"He's kind of just more quiet and conservative to himself a little bit," Greenlaw explained. "And I mean, I think I'm like that in a way. It depends on, you know, if you get me riled up or not, but I haven't seen him too riled up. Yesterday he was talking after a couple hits, and I was hearing him and I was loving it. And I was like, 'Okay, I hear you out there 45 [Martin's number].' You know what I'm saying? And he was getting juiced up.
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"So I think that's going to come with time. The more he plays he's able to make, the more confidence he gets, the more you're going to hear from 45. So, yeah, I do see myself in a lot of ways. Just, you know, the way he plays, you know, he's a fast player. And then once he knows it, he's very instinctive. So he's going to make a big impact for us."
And that's exactly what the 49ers will need from Martin to reach their goal of an elusive Super Bowl victory.
