49ers DC Robert Saleh brushes off awful outing from rookie in NFL preseason debut
San Francisco hoped that one of their best options would be Nick Martin, one of their third-round picks from this year's draft. However, with 2023 sixth-round pick Dee Winters really impressing throughout training camp, Martin appears to be fighting for a rotational snaps.
During the team's first preseason game of the year, a 30-9 loss to the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium, Martin was noticeable on the field, but not in the way he wanted to be.
The rookie finished the day with five tackles, but his missed tackles were one of the fan base's talking points after the game, and while some are worried about his performance, 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh isn't one of them.
'Nick's doing a good job," Saleh told reporters on Tuesday. "Obviously, he's a big-time running hit linebacker, so he just has to learn how to control himself at the tackle point and come together. It's getting his feet underneath him and just get his body on the ball carrier until the speed of the game catches up to him. If that makes sense. But he's young. It was his first real live action in over a year and a half, so we're not concerned with some of those missed tackles. I think we'll get those cleaned up.'
Martin, 22, was a three-star recruit out of Pleasant Grove High School in Texarkana, Texas before committing to Oklahoma State from 2021-24. During his time with the Cowboys, he appeared in 35 games and recorded 203 tackles (24 for a loss), seven sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumbles recovered. He also earned All-Big 12 honors once.
Despite the rough first week Saleh believes in the rookie linebacker and knows he has others to lean on in the locker room.
"He's in a good place," Saleh said. "The good thing is, he's got a lot of teammates who have had first preseason games that didn't go so well. So, you just put it to the side and find a way to get better. He's going to have another opportunity to do that against Vegas.'
A strong final two games in the preseason could earn Martin the top backup spot in the linebacker room, but more performances like the last, and he could be surpassed by Luke Gifford and Tatum Bethune, who both looked solid against Denver.
More 49ers: 49ers 7th-round pick makes surprise entry into battle for starting job
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