Could Dee Winters save the 2023 draft from being worse than 2022?

Jake Moody is gone. Can Dee Winters save the 2023 draft from being worse than 2022?

Back in May, when Drake Jackson was released from the San Francisco 49ers, it highlighted another disappointment from the 2022 draft: a source of the 49ers’ current depth problems. At least they got Brock Purdy out of it.

Jake Moody comes from the draft class made a year later. His release now leaves the following players: Darrell Luter Jr., Dee Winters, Ji’Ayir Brown, Robert Beal Jr., Brayden Willis, and Jalen Graham.

Of those names, Willis and Graham are on the practice squad.

While Moody’s rookie season didn’t start like Robert Aguayo’s (taken by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a contender for not just one of the worst kicker draft picks, but one of the biggest busts in NFL history), there were questions. Moody could not be depended on nearly as much as Gould could be. When Moody took the field to kick a field goal (a rarity at points to start the 2023 season since the 49ers offense was so efficient), the balls were inches away from a doink.

Brown and Luter (even though Luter contributed to the muffed punt in the Super Bowl) remain as decent depth pieces, but the lone bright spot of that class now could be Dee Winters.

We say “could” because Winters played behind Dre Greenlaw for two years before starting. And he started nine games in 2024, the year Greenlaw was sidelined for most of the season. After Greenlaw left in free agency, it was either Winters or rookie Nick Martin who would take the role of Fred Warner’s sidekick.

In 2025, within the limited sample size, Winters has shone. Against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1, he had six tackles (five solo), with two of those coming for a loss. The stats don’t do him justice; Winters was flying all over the field and keeping the run game in check—something the 49ers couldn’t do in 2024.

And while the 49ers need to defend the run game better, they also need someone to fill in for the void left by Greenlaw. This is particularly crucial with the loss of starting quarterback Brock Purdy for Week 2. With backup Mac Jones starting, the defense will be heavily relied upon to prevent being run over, as was the case many times last year.

As far as the 2023 draft class is concerned, Winters might be the only starter they pull from it. That is, if he continues to play like he did in Seattle. Much like 2017, when we said “yeah, but that’s where they got Kittle,” hopefully, we can look to 2023 and say “Yeah, but that’s where they got Winters.”

If Winters doesn’t work out, it means the 49ers have had only one draft where they secured a starting quarterback and a few depth pieces, followed by another draft that yielded a couple more depth pieces but little else.

2023 might be worse than 2022 simply because Purdy makes 2022 unassailable in value. Winters has depth around him, but if he doesn’t hit, this class is Moody’s.

Winters does have some depth around him — and depth is something the 49ers have shown they sorely need — but if he doesn’t pan out as a starter, the 2023 draft class risks being remembered as Moody’s class without a “yeah, but”.

And then we’re entering a territory of what was worse: 2023 with Moody or 2012 with A.J. Jenkins?

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