San Francisco 49ers rookie linebacker Jaden Dugger has benefited from sharing a roster with two highly respected defenders, Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw. The young linebacker understands that having two veteran leaders in the 49ers' linebacker room is a tremendous advantage as he transitions from the college level to the NFL.
Dugger didn't want to waste any precious time this offseason. While many players scattered for the summer during the break between the offseason program and the start of training camp, Dugger said he remained in the Bay Area with Warner and Greenlaw, working every day to improve his game and refine his technique.
"I just learned so much from them, just what they expect out of certain stuff, just certain techniques, just a lot of stuff," Dugger told reporters on Saturday. "Just picking up stuff from those vets, and the two best linebackers, so it's been good for me."
Dugger has a great deal of respect for Warner and Greenlaw's relentless approach to football and hopes to model his game after that same intensity. He was asked to identify the most important lesson he's learned from the veteran linebacker duo so far.
"Really, the approach to the game, that's what's the most important—being relentless, running to the ball all the time," Dugger shared. "If you watch film, you're going to see those guys running to the ball all the time. That's like the Forty-Niner way.
"You're taught that in college, but they don't harp on it as much. But now, when you come here, that's the standard. In practice, even if you're 40 yards away, you go chase the ball. So, just watching those guys and watching the team in general, just the culture around here, just that's what it taught me."
Jaden Dugger evaluates his performance against the Chargers
Dugger played 32 defensive snaps and nine special-teams snaps in Thursday night's preseason win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Nick Martin was the only 49ers linebacker to play more defensive snaps.
"I feel like I did pretty well," Dugger said in a self-assessment. "I mean, some stuff to always clean up, just little technique stuff, just trying to get better, just critiquing myself hard. But I feel like I'm getting better and better week by week, so that's a positive in itself right there."
Dugger admitted that he was "a little too jittery" at the start of the game. However, he settled down and corrected some of his early mistakes as the game progressed.
"He's finding his role, he's finding his niche," defensive coordinator Raheem Morris said. "He's doing some really good things."
Dugger also admitted that learning how to rush the passer at the NFL level, something the 49ers coaching staff has been working with him on, is challenging. However, having experience doing so at the college level has helped ease the transition.
"He was one of the fortunate people that actually rushed the passer before in college," Morris explained. "You've seen him off-the-ball cover in college. You've seen him on-the-ball before. You've seen him do a bunch of different things. You've seen him in the secondary. You've seen him do a bunch of different things in college that he was able to translate those skill sets over to what we're talking about."
Dugger still has plenty to learn as he adjusts to the NFL, but his opportunity to learn from Warner and Greenlaw could accelerate his development. With the 49ers continuing to experiment with his versatile skill set, the rookie is positioning himself to become an important part of the defense's future.
More info on: Jaden Dugger, Dre Greenlaw, Nick Martin, Fred Warner
Comments