Linebacker Dre Greenlaw has had an immense impact in San Francisco, as the 49ers have boasted a top-five defense in each of the four seasons since they selected Greenlaw in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. So far this season, Greenlaw has notched 120 total tackles (five for loss), four QB hits, 1.5 sacks and four passes defended.

"Dre is one of the best players in the league," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "Dre is just a little different of an animal... He's a difference maker."

Keep reading to learn more about San Francisco's linebacker.

In the 49ers contest against the Dallas Cowboys on "Sunday Night Football" earlier this season, former NFL pass rusher JJ Watt gave a shoutout to Fred Warner and Greenlaw as the NFL's best linebacker duo. The two pros have been in the conversation as the league's top defensive pair of the 2023 season, and their on-the-field chemistry has been building for five seasons now.

On the 49ers You've Got Mail podcast, Warner shared his first impression of Greenlaw:

"Midway through his rookie season, I think it was on a Monday night when he came in, and as soon as Dre came in the game they couldn't take him off the field," Warner said. "He was too good. From the very first time he stepped on that field, they call him 'Big Play Dre' for a reason. That boy knows how to make plays... Time has really allowed us to build that chemistry of being on the field together and really having that unspoken language. We just know where each other's going to be on the field, and we both just love the hunt of it. We love the play style of wanting to impose our will when we when we arrive to the ball."

Greenlaw is an Arkansas native and proud alumnus of the Razorbacks. The linebacker likes to indulge in all of the state's wild foods when he returns to the South.

"We're known for all type of foods," Greenlaw said on You've Got Mail. "We've got raccoon, squirrel, possum, deer, what do you want? We've got alligator, anything you want, they really got it all. And we can do it all – fried, cooked, baked, grilled, boiled – hog, pig feet, chitlings, all of it."

Although he's been named one of the top linebackers in the league, Greenlaw shared that if he did not play at LB, he'd excel under center.

"I've always been a quarterback... like a Tom Brady type guy. Y'all haven't gotten to see my talents yet and y'all haven't gotten to see how I operate behind the center, but I can do it," Greenlaw joked.

It's become a funny tradition in the 49ers linebacker room that the rookies have to supply the snacks for the rest of the position group. On the Warner House podcast, Greenlaw reflected on his experience as a snack runner.

"I remember when I first did it I thought, 'Y'all are supposed to be football players, ain't supposed to be eating snacks like this,'" Greenlaw said as he laughed. "Kwon Alexander, he was the biggest snack eater in the room. He wanted all the snacks the honey buns, zebra cakes, hot chips, everything. (Warner) wanted the Whole Foods, the healthy stuff the all-organic healthy snacks... I had to stay stocked up on the snacks."

As a five-year vet, Greenlaw's favorite moment of his career so far came in Week 14 of the 2022 season in the 49ers contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"My Brady ball," Greenlaw said. "That was special. That was the first guy like I've ever seen on TV play ball... Just knowing how big of a G.O.A.T. he is, that was a pretty big moment."