PFF Ranks 49ers LB De’Vondre Campbell 19th Among NFL Linebackers

Pro Football Focus has an extremely high opinion of the 49ers’ second choice to replace Dre Greenlaw while he recovers from an Achilles tear.

First, the 49ers tried to sign linebacker Eric Kendricks, but he backed out of the deal and signed a longer one with the Cowboys. So the 49ers signed De’Vondre Campbell to a one-year deal as a consolation.

Recently, PFF ranked the 32 best linebackers in the NFL. Surprisingly, neither Greenlaw nor Kendricks made the list, but Campbell did. He ranked 19th.

“Campbell should be a nice addition for the 49ers’ defense, giving them cover while Dre Greenlaw works his way back from injury,” writes PFF analyst Gordon McGuiness. “Campbell didn’t manage to hit the heights of his 2021 campaign with the Packers in the past two years, but he has earned PFF grades above 65.0 in each of the past three seasons.”

Campbell played the first three seasons of his career with the Falcons. Then he played the past three seasons with the Packers where he was an All Pro in 2021 when he recorded a whopping 146 tackles. But he’ll be 31 in July, and last season he missed six games with ankle and neck injuries. And even when he was on the field, the Packers run defense struggled big time.

But even at his age, Campbell excels in pass coverage, particularly zone coverage, similar to 49ers middle linebacker Fred Warner. And when Greenlaw returns, the three of these linebackers should form an excellent duo if all three remain healthy.