San Francisco 49ers land Dre Greenlaw backup plan by agreeing deal with former All-Pro Eric Kendricks
It remains to be seen if Dre Greenlaw will be available for the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 of the 2024 season after tearing his Achilles in a bizarre Super Bowl injury. But the 49ers have a contingency if he isn't, having agreed a deal to sign Eric Kendricks on a one-year contract, per […]
It remains to be seen if Dre Greenlaw will be available for the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 of the 2024 season after tearing his Achilles in a bizarre Super Bowl injury.
But the 49ers have a contingency if he isn't, having agreed a deal to sign Eric Kendricks on a one-year contract, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Kendricks is set to sign with the 49ers following one season with the Los Angeles Chargers. For much of last season he played under Brandon Staley, who is now the 49ers assistant head coach following his firing by the Chargers after a 5-9 start to 2023.
Staley is naturally expected to work with the defensive side of the ball and assist the Niners' first-time defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen.
That familiarity with a key member of the coaching staff will have been a selling point for the 49ers, along with his impressive play as a pass rusher and in run defense last season.
Kendricks had four sacks for the Chargers, all of which came on true pass sets. Only T.J. Edwards had a higher Pro Football Focus pass rush grade among linebackers on true pass sets.
In run defense, Kendricks registered 23 stops that registered a failure for the offense, two more than his new teammate, All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, managed. Warner and Bosa (25) were the only Niners with more than 20 last season.
Kendricks was credited with only four missed tackles in the run game, and his consistency in that regard should help a 49er defense that struggled in the same area down the stretch. Warner had 11 missed tackles in the run game, one of four players with at least five.
The issue for Kendricks, a first-team All-Pro with the Vikings in 2019, is coverage. He allowed the highest completion rate (79.7%) and passer rating when targeted (101.8) of his career in 2023. Per Sports Info Solutions, his Expected Points Added allowed per target (0.26) was the seventh highest among linebackers targeted at least 25 times.
San Francisco will hope that, if Greenlaw is not ready, playing next to Warner as the WILL linebacker can minimize Kendricks' deficiencies in coverage. When Greenlaw is on the field, Kendricks will likely move to SAM linebacker, where his prowess against the run and as a pass rusher will strengthen what was already the top linebacking group in the NFL.
