Niners Nation
Many fans have been wondering when the San Francisco 49ers will see what they have in rookie third-round pick Nick Martin. After all, this is a defense that has struggled mightily since Fred Warner dislocated his ankle a month ago.
For much of the season, Martin was a healthy scratch. Martin’s season debut came in Week 7 on special teams. Since then, he’s played on the kickoff, and both kick and punt return teams—no defensive snaps. Head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked if there have been discussions about letting Martin learn the strongside linebacker role, in hopes of getting him on the field.
Shanahan, adamantly, doesn’t believe that’s what’s best for Martin at this point: “Yeah, there are discussions about it, and if we think that’s the best thing to do for the team, we’ll do it, but we don’t think that it is.”
Instead, the team has relied on Luke Gifford, who has about 25ish pounds on Martin. When you’re playing on the line of scrimmage as much as the SAM linebacker does, it makes sense why the 49ers would want to avoid playing Martin in that spot.
On the flip side, Robert Saleh has no issue lining up Dee Winters in a similar spot multiple times a game:
Winters lined up on the line against the Rams more than usual because of the excessive use of tight ends on the field, but he’s been no stranger to that all season. Winters has 54 snaps all year at that spot. He weighs 227 pounds.
That heavy dosage of 12 and 13 personnel meant 26 snaps for Gifford. In the games where Gifford plays meaningful snaps, the 49ers’ defense is at its worst. In the past month, there have been three games where Gifford played over 20 snaps. The Rams, the Texans, and the Bucs. In each of those games, the offense went up and down the field.
Gifford, who was presumably brought in for his run defense along with his special teams prowess, has been a net negative when he’s on the field. The 49ers are -8 in EPA per 60 plays with Gifford on the field against the run. Which begs the question, how bad can Martin be?
The fact that the team isn’t willing to give him a shot is damming in itself. They essentially redshirted Dee Winters in his rookie season and gave De’Vondre Campbell every opportunity to fail last season instead of rolling with Winters. And this isn’t to say Martin has the same skill set or upside as Winters, but it’s like Deja Vu all over again — especially after seeing Gifford get picked on by Sean McVay.
Martin, who played MIKE linebacker during his time at Oklahoma State, was known for being violent at the point of attack, rangy, and a high-end athlete. He did not have strong instincts and was overaggressive, which would cost him whether it was against the run or the pass. But Martin’s strong suit was rushing the passer,...
