The San Francisco 49ers failed with what appeared to be their 'Plan A' to deal with Dre Greenlaw's Achilles injury.

Eric Kendricks went back on his agreement to sign with the Niners this offseason, instead electing to sign with the Dallas Cowboys, reuniting with former coach Mike Zimmer in doing so.

That led the 49ers to a backup plan of signing veteran De'Vondre Campbell after the 2021 All-Pro's time with the Green Bay Packers came to an end. 

Campbell has endured a drop-off since that excellent season, one he attributed to mistakes made by the Green Bay coaching staff following an acrimonious departure.

Despite questions over his seemingly waning physical gifts, Pro Football Focus sees cause for belief he can fill the Greenlaw void, the Niners' starting WILL linebacker highly doubtful to be ready for Week 1 after tearing his Achilles in a bizarre incident in Super Bowl 58.

49ers MIKE linebacker Fred Warner was unsurprisingly ranked as the best in the NFL at the position by PFF, which did not put Greenlaw on its annual list due to injury but offered reason for San Francisco to be encouraged by the prospect of Campbell starting next to their All-Pro at least to begin the year. 

Campbell ranked 19th on PFF's list, with Gordon McGuinness writing:

Campbell should be a nice addition for the 49ers' defense, giving them cover while Dre Greenlaw works his way back from injury. Campbell didn't manage to hit the heights of his 2021 campaign with the Packers in the past two years, but he has earned PFF grades above 65.0 in each of the past three seasons.

In other words, Campbell has a track record that suggests he can at least give the 49ers a high baseline of linebacker play.

Yet early reports from OTAs and minicamp, which should be taken with a grain of salt, indicate he could provide them with much more than that.

Campbell claimed last month that he was back in love with football after signing with the 49ers, and linebackers coach Johnny Holland said: "He's been awesome. I've been watching him play for a long time, from when he was a rookie in 2016 in Atlanta. It's his ninth year in the league now, and he's gravitating to our system. He has such good awareness and courage (as well as) his ability to still run and play. We're excited about having him, and he will fit well in our system."

It isn't just Campbell who has drawn significant praise this offseason. With Greenlaw injured and Oren Burks having departed for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Niners have an opening at SAM linebacker on base downs, one that a 2023 draft pick appears well placed to fill.

Former sixth-round pick Dee Winters certainly has intriguing athletic gifts, having clocked a 4.49 40-yard dash time in preparing for last year's draft after a collegiate career with TCU in which he demonstrated an ability to chase sideline to sideline and make plays in the backfield.

Having spent most of his rookie year on special teams, Winters has enjoyed a strong offseason, earning him huge plaudits from Warner.

Said Warner: 

"I think Dee's probably had the best OTAs out of anybody on the team. I feel like he's come along since last year. I remember he came in as a rookie, was struggling to learn the plays, and trying to get in shape, and all those little things that you got to learn as a professional. And [he] has come in this year and has just been on it, making plays left and right."

Offseason praise counts for little until it is justified by performances in the regular season.

However, with Campbell seemingly settling in well and Winters making strides to put himself in a position to challenge for a starting role on base downs, the 49ers could be in a better spot at linebacker than many might have thought after Greenlaw went down in the second quarter of the Super Bowl.

The 49ers have the best linebacker duo in the NFL when both Warner and Greenlaw are healthy, but the signs from the early part of their preparations for the new season suggest the drop-off without the latter on the field won't necessarily be so steep.

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They should have moved quicker.