Niners Nation
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Niners fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
The San Francisco 49ers will have several new faces on both sides of the ball this season. It’s why FanDuel Sportsbook believes they will be among the best teams in the NFL. Today, we’re going to focus on one player who was a rookie last year and a familiar face returning to the Niners.
The 49ers used their first-rounder on Mykel Williams in 2025. Through the first six weeks of the season, Williams was the only rookie to lead his defensive line in playing time. Of course, it wasn’t supposed to be that way. Williams was supposed to learn the ropes alongside Nick Bosa.
But an injury to Bosa meant everybody else would need to do more. Williams generated pressure on just 5.4% of dropbacks, which was the second-lowest among edge rushers at the time.
Mykel’s calling card was playing the run. With Williams on the field, the 49ers allowed a 42% success rate and an explosive run rate of just 4.9%. Without him, those numbers shot up to 52.9% and 11.8%. That’s how much of an impact the rookie had in the running game, and something that was sorely missed in the playoffs and down the stretch.
On March 10, 2025, Dre Greenlaw signed a three-year deal with the Denver Broncos worth up to $35 million. Greenlaw made his debut in Week 7 for Denver. He was eased in, playing fewer than 30 snaps in the first two games before gradually increasing his snap count.
In that second game back, where Greenlaw played 27 snaps, he recorded four run stuffs for either a loss or no gain. That tied two All-Pros, Fred Warner and Patrick Queen. It was a career day for Greenlaw, who had never recorded more than two run stuffs in a game and had only reached that number three times in six seasons with the 49ers.
Fast forward a month, and Greenlaw had the second-highest run tackle rate, the highest run stop rate, and the second-best run stuff rate of any linebacker in the league. Not too shabby, Dre.
The 49ers are adding two plus-run defenders to a defense that struggled mightily to stop any ground attack a year ago. We’re asking which player will have a bigger impact in 2026?
