FAYETTEVILLE, Ark — Arkansas linebacker Dre Greenlaw was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the 5th round with the 148th overall pick of the 2019 National Football League Draft on Saturday, April 27.
He is the sixth Razorback taken by the 49ers and the 270th Arkansas football player drafted since the first in 1938. He joins Hjalte Froholdt (New England, 4th round) as Razorbacks picked in this year’s draft, making it the ninth consecutive year Arkansas has had multiple players chosen in the draft. The duo continues Arkansas’ streak of 24 years with at least one Razorback picked in the NFL Draft, which ranks fourth in the SEC.
From Fayetteville, Greenlaw played in 38 games during his time as a Razorback, collecting 299 total tackles, 145 unassisted, holding the active career tackle mark throughout the entirety of the 2018 campaign. He finished his collegiate career with 14 double-digit tackle games, 13 tackles for loss, three interceptions, three fumbles forced and three recovered.
As a senior team captain, Greenlaw played in nine games, starting eight at the weakside linebacker position, and ranked third on the team in tackles with 80. He posted 38 solo stops, 6.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks, while picking off two passes, both against Texas A&M, forced a fumble and recovered another. He finished the year with four double-digit tackle games, with a season-high 13 tackles in back-to-back weeks vs. Texas A&M (Sept. 29) and Alabama (Oct. 6).
In 2017, he broke the 100-tackle threshold with 103 stops after starting all 12 games for the Razorbacks. Greenlaw finished fourth in the SEC in double-digit tackle games with six, four of those coming during SEC action, as he finished conference play with 72 tackles. His 17 tackles against No. 23 TCU on Sept. 9 were a career-best and the most by a Razorback since 2010 (Jerry Franklin – 20).
His 2016 campaign saw him start all seven games he played, producing 42 tackles and 22 solo stops, with 1.5 tackles for loss, an interception and two fumble recoveries. Greenlaw’s freshman year saw him earn two Freshman All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Sporting News, as well as SEC All-Freshman honors from the conference coaches and Athlon Sports.
Greenlaw finished fifth nationally among FBS freshmen and topped SEC rookies with 95 tackles, leading the team in five games. He paced the squad in solo stops with 46, while adding 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack and two forced fumbles. He averaged 9.8 tackles in SEC road games, picking up a team-best 69 stops during conference play while putting together four double-digit tackle performances.
He finished his career in the cardinal & white with 2,039 snaps played, according to Pro Football Focus, and came 10 tackles away from the 10th-most tackles in an Arkansas career.
