San Francisco 49ers: Three rookies who will likely start in 2018

Fred Warner, LB

The previous two players mentioned are a near lock to start in week one. Fred Warner has a great chance of winning himself a spot in the lineup, but is not nearly as much of a sure thing as Dante Pettis and Mike McGlinchey.

As of now, the 49ers have two starting linebackers you can pencil in. These players are Reuben Foster and Malcolm Smith. They will likely be the mike and sam for the team, respectively. The will spot is still up for grabs.

In the end, it will probably come down to either Eli Harold or Warner for who will win that starting job in camp. While Harold has several years of NFL experience and Warner has none, Harold is not very good.

With Harold being his only real competition for the spot, the opportunity for Warner to play himself onto the field is there. It will come down to if he shows in training camp and he preseason that he is ready for such responsibility right away.

It is not hard to imagine a scenario that this is the case. Warner’s athleticism and coverage ability make him a player who should be very well suited to fill the weakside linebacker position right away.

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And even if he wins the starting position, he will probably not garner as much responsibility as the other two starters as he will likely be the linebacker that is taken off the field when the team runs a nickel formation, or any other sub package where a defensive back replaces a linebacker on the field.