Watch: Jaden Dugger on video
The San Francisco 49ers may have found linebacker depth in the fifth round. Rookie Jaden Dugger is a dark-horse candidate for early playing time, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic, after making the most of an opening created when veteran Luke Gifford suffered a concussion during organized team activities.
Dugger’s path to Santa Clara was anything but direct. Unranked out of high school in Pittsburgh, he started his college career as a safety at Georgetown, then transferred to Louisiana and converted to linebacker. In his lone season as a full-time starter for the Ragin’ Cajuns, he piled up 125 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and four sacks — production that got him drafted on Day 3 this spring.
Why it matters
The reports out of the offseason program are specific. Per Barrows, Dugger’s size, length and speed are the best in the 49ers’ linebacker room, and position coach K.J. Wright — himself a longtime Seahawks starter at the spot — has raved about how quickly the rookie is picking up the defense. Barrows points to the heavy three-tight-end packages run by the division-rival Rams as exactly the kind of matchup problem a linebacker with Dugger’s frame could be assigned to.
The room he is trying to crack looks healthier than it did a year ago. Fred Warner returns after missing all but six games in 2025, and Dre Greenlaw is back after his run through free agency. But San Francisco also traded Dee Winters to Dallas during draft weekend — selecting Dugger the next day — so the depth chart behind the starters is genuinely open. Given how hard injuries have hit this roster in recent seasons, the linebackers behind Warner are not a hypothetical concern; last season tested that depth for months.
A fifth-round rookie learning behind one of the best linebackers in football, coached by a man who started at the position for a decade, is a favorable setup. The 49ers open training camp practices on July 26, and Dugger’s reps once Gifford returns will show whether the offseason buzz survives contact with the pads.
