Early during offseason workouts, it appeared the San Francisco 49ers had a spicy position battle brewing between third-year linebacker Dee Winters and 2025 third-round rookie Nick Martin.
Martin, after all, was seen as an heir apparent to now-Denver Broncos backer Dre Greelaw, who paired with All-Pro Fred Warner for years and helped create so many golden memories for the Niners over the years.
Except, at least during training camp, it appeared as if Winters was running away in the competition to start alongside Warner.
With one preseason game in the books, following Denver's visit to Santa Clara in exhibition Week 1, fans can now understand why Martin was on the losing end.