San Francisco 49ers: Who Will Replace Patrick Willis and Chris Borland?

The unexpected dual retirements of Patrick Willis and Chris Borland have left the San Francisco 49ers thinner than expected at middle linebacker.  With head coach Jim Tomsula confirming at the NFL owners meetings that the 49ers will stay in a 3-4 defense in 2015, the starting inside linebacker spot next to NaVorro Bowman becomes something of a question mark.

A question mark, however, can be filled from within.  In all honesty, the 49ers' best option in 2015 might be to go with the players already on the roster. 

Michael Wilhoite was called up to be the starter at the beginning of last season, when Bowman was out hurt, and he did at least an adequate job.  He was superior to Borland when it came to actually covering backs and tight ends from the middle linebacker position—not as good as Willis was, obviously, but solid enough.

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The problem is that Wilhoite just doesn’t have as much speed as Willis or Bowman.  That means that when he takes the wrong angle to a play, he can’t overcome it with raw physical ability.  Add in some subpar play in the run game and Wilhoite would be a below-average starter.  That’s still starting quality, mind you, but he’d likely be the 49ers’ worst starter on defense.

Pro Football Focus’ numbers back that up; he was the 36th-ranked inside linebacker last season, grading out at minus-5.1.  That’s superior to some other regular starters around the league, including division rivals such as Larry Foote in Arizona and James Laurinaitis in St. Louis, but it’s definitely on the low end of an acceptable performance. 

I’d be much more comfortable with him in a reserve role, but if he was starting ahead of a developing player, I could understand that—much like how he started 2014 ahead of Chris Borland.

Last season, however, it was understood that Wilhoite was just a temporary solution.  Willis and Bowman were the starters, when they were healthy.  Wilhoite’s an acceptable option in those circumstances, but would the team want to rely on him as a long-term player?

That’s why there’s been some talk about moving Ahmad Brooks inside.  The 49ers have three starting-caliber outside linebackers on the roster with Brooks, Aldon Smith and Aaron Lynch. 

Brooks certainly has a better career pedigree than Wilhoite does, and he’s struggled a little on the outside in recent seasons.  Moving him inside would be an intriguing way to use the aging, $7 million man, per Over The Cap, and would help avoid some of the issues the 49ers had with him last season.

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With Smith, Lynch and Brooks all healthy and active, playing time was somewhat limited.  Brooks, you’ll remember, complained about it and benched himself at least once.  Moving Brooks to the inside would give him a starter’s role.

Brooks has played inside before.  He started his career there in Cincinnati, though he only excelled when moved to the outside in San Francisco.  At the very least, it seems to be worth some consideration.

Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports, however, that at the moment, there are no plans to move Brooks inside.  Plans have a habit of changing when faced with reality, but it seems, at the moment, that the 49ers are fine with having too many cooks outside and not enough inside. 

I think it’s worth at least checking to see how Brooks would do in the interior, but I can understand the hesitance to move him from the one position he’s succeeded at in the NFL.

Borland’s retirement came too late for the team to have a great answer lined up in free agency, but there are a couple of names still out there whom the team could sign.

The best name still available on the open market is probably ex-Cowboy Rolando McClain, Pro Football Focus’ eighth-best inside linebacker last season.  There are a couple of red flags here, of course. 

He had multiple head injuries in 2014, so there’s durability concerns.  ESPN's Adam Schefter and Todd Archer are also reporting that McClain will face a four-game fine for violating the substance-abuse policy—still better than a suspension, but it's an issue notwithstanding.  There’s also the issue of him missing the entire 2013 season due to retirement, making his success last year a major surprise.

All that being said, however, he’s the best option the 49ers could get right now to start across from Bowman.  If they’re not 100 percent sold on Wilhoite, they should at least kick the tires on McClain and see what they can find out.

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Another option would be to look at ex-Bill Brandon Spikes. 

Trent Baalke told The Sacramento Bee's Matt Barrows (h/t to David Fucillo of Niners Nation) that the 49ers were interested in Spikes, alongside Erin Henderson, Lance Briggs and Mason Foster. 

Foster has since signed with Tampa Bay, and Lance Briggs is on the wrong side of 30.  Henderson is reportedly being visited by the 49ers, according to ESPN's Josina Anderson (via Maiocco), but he missed all of last season due to a suspension and subsequent lack of interest.

Spikes, on the other hand, is an intriguing option.  He was the 13th-ranked inside linebacker last season, according to Pro Football Focus , and he excels in run defense—the one area Wilhoite is most lacking in.  He’s really only a two-down linebacker at this point, but that’s OK—the 49ers could rotate Wilhoite in on passing downs alongside Bowman, and Bowman’s the man in the dime package, anyway. 

If the 49ers could get him on a cheap deal—he counted $3.25 million against the cap last season, according to Spotrac, which is high but not undoable—he’d be a very solid option as well.

Then there’s the draft.  The 49ers have five picks in the first four rounds, and I think it’s essentially a guarantee that they’ll use at least one of those picks on an inside linebacker.  They could, in theory, use their first-round pick on a player, but I’m not so sure there’s a first-rounder in this year’s draft. 

If the 49ers use their first pick on an inside linebacker, it’s more likely to be because they traded back to the end of the first round or beginning of the second, in my opinion.

The two names to watch out for with one of the first two picks would be Miami’s Denzel Perryman and UCLA’s Eric Kendricks. 

Perryman is a run-stopping jackhammer, but he probably won’t develop into much of an all-around, three-down player—you put him in to stop the run and take him out on passing downs, because what he excels at is shedding blockers and blowing up running backs.  He could definitely start right away, though he’s probably best in a platoon with Wilhoite.

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Kendricks, on the other hand, shows the instincts and skills to be an every-down player, including against the pass.  The knock on him is his size—he’s 6’0”, 232 pounds.  That’s a little small, but it’s actually a little larger than Perryman. 

He’s the best of the top inside backers in space and has a great ability to read and react to plays as they develop.  I’m concerned about his durability, however—he underwent ankle surgery, missed the Sun Bowl at the end of 2013 and missed a bunch of games that season with nagging injuries.

Benardrick McKinney of Mississippi State is also tossed around as a first- or second-round pick sometimes, and I could see that happening as well—he’s third on my list, but they’re all in the same general range.

He’s the largest of the top three, but he also has the least agility—he lumbers sometimes.  He makes up for that with instincts and proper-play recognition, but he’s just generally stiff, all around.  There’s enough positives there to make up for it, but it is a factor.

I think Kendricks has the highest ceiling of the top three, so I suppose he’d be my selection there.  Perryman’s tackling ability is something to behold, however, and that’s very, very tempting. 

I wouldn’t use a first-round pick on any of these players, because they all have something holding them back, but any would make a logical pick in Round 2, as would Clemson’s Stephone Anthony.  I’d imagine that’s the most likely place to see the 49ers fill the need on draft day.

If the 49ers don’t go for any of those four, they’re likely picking between players such as USC’s Hayes Pullard or Michigan State’s Taiwan Jones.  Any one of those top six would help fill the need, but Pullard or Jones would be more backups to learn behind Wilhoite, while the other players would at least compete for the starting role out of camp.

The 49ers have a number of options on how to replace the departed Willis and Borland, including the option of standing pat.  It’s probably the least settled role on the entire team at this point in the offseason.

Bryan Knowles is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers.  Follow him @BryKno on Twitter.