49ers star Warner joins 10-sack, 10-pick club as DPOY résumé grows

SANTA CLARA -- Through four weeks of the 2024 NFL season, one thing abundantly is clear. Fred Warner is the league's best defensive player, and it doesn't seem particularly close at this point in time.

Warner only played one half on Sunday, yet still left the field at Levi's Stadium as the shining star of the 49ers' 30-13 win over the New England Patriots.

Linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles has witnessed Warner's greatness up close on a daily basis for five years and still remains in awe of the All-Pro's ability to singlehandedly turn a game on its head -- even in a limited cameo.

"It was just Fred being Fred, man. Captain America," Flannigan-Fowles told NBC Sports Bay Area after Sunday's win. "Every time he's out there, it's like having two or three extra people out there because of how much he flies around. So, when he got the pick-six, it kind of was no surprise because I know how he prepares, I know how he goes about his business. I mean, I'm with him everyday.

"So, I'm happy for him. I'm happy for all his success, and the sky continues to be the limit. He's already been such a great player, but he continues to show that he can be so much better."

It has been 10 years since an off-ball linebacker took home NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award honors (Carolina Panthers' Luke Kuechly in 2013), but if that award were handed out today, it's difficult envisioning a justified outcome where Warner isn't the recipient.

Warner's unprecedented ability in coverage long has been the separator between himself and the NFL's other elite linebackers, an invaluable asset in a pass-heavy league that regularly seeks to exploit second-level defenders in space.

In four games this season, Warner is holding opposing quarterbacks to a 17.9 passer rating when targeted, far and away the best mark of any linebacker that has been thrown at least five times this season.

Warner's first-half pick-six against New England perfectly embodies his transcendent coverage skills, prowling between the hashes before leaping into the throwing window to secure the turnover. And that's before flashing the athleticism required to rapidly rise from the turf and complete the 45-yard quest into the end zone.

ALL-PRO FRED WITH THE PICK 6️⃣🤯 pic.twitter.com/rNUYotWwyK

— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) September 29, 2024

The pick was Warner's second of the 2024 season and the 10th of his NFL career, joining former 49ers linebacker Keena Turner as the only players in franchise history to record at least 10 interceptions and 10 sacks in their careers.

It also made Warner the NFL's only player to record 10 interceptions, 10 sacks and 10 forced fumbles since 2019 -- a tangible statistic highlighting the All-Pro linebacker's widespread impact as the engine of San Francisco's vaunted defense over the last half decade.

What makes Warner's footprint even more special is how far that influence extends beyond his breathtaking play on the field. Although his leadership is much more difficult to quantify, it remains just as valuable as the eye-popping statistics he continues to rack up.

Coming off a particularly bad late collapse against the Los Angeles Rams, Warner knew he had to set the tone early before Sunday's matchup with New England.

Hours before kickoff, Warner gathered teammates together in a huddle on the field during warmups, delivering a fiery message to inspire his teammates.

Flannigan-Fowles detailed how Warner's passionate plea galvanized a dominant performance from San Francisco's defense.

"It set's a tone for all of us, because we know how much it means to him," Flannigan-Fowles said. "That's kind of someone who you want to go to bat for. He gives his all to the game, so why not replicate that energy."

Warner's intensity could be felt well before Sunday's win as well, as the fifth-year team captain was intent on ensuring 49ers practice matched the level of urgency required to rebound from San Francisco's early-season skid.

“Yeah, absolutely. It was chippy. I think it was exactly what it needed to be," Warner said of San Francisco's week of practice before playing New England. "I mean, you dropped two. Two losses, especially the one last week. It left a sour taste in our mouth. Yeah, I think it was the right type of week."

Coach Kyle Shanahan has been present for every play of Warner's NFL career, and he offered a strong endorsement of the All-Pro linebacker's prolific start to the 2024 season.

“I do a little bit," Shanahan said when asked if Warner has elevated his play even further this season. "It's kind of hard to say that, he's been so good every year. But the way he’s started out this year, it's been a big-time year for him so far.”

When asked the same question, Warner was quick to turn the focus toward the team, rather than his own individual success.

“I'm just trying to do my best, whatever that takes for the team, honestly," Warner said after Sunday's win. "The play today – I've been talking about that for weeks now.

"Coach [Brandon] Staley does a great job in our ball meeting, and he's made it an emphasis that if you score on defense, you have about a 100 percent chance of winning the game. So, I'm like, we've got to score on D, and for us to get that play, obviously we won, and we’ve got to keep it going now.”

Only two off-ball linebackers have been awarded the NFL's most prestigious individual defensive accolade in the last 20 years.

Typically DPOY honors are reserved for pass rushers and ball-hawking defensive backs, with little respect shown for players in the middle. Warner should be viewed as the exception, with an impact stretching to all three levels of the field in unparalleled fashion.

Warner is a game-wrecking force of nature, the likes of which the NFL has never seen. It's time for him to be recognized as such.

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