Kyle Shanahan believes Fred Warner is playing the best football of his 49ers’ career early in the 2024 NFL season.
Speaking to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Greg Papa on “49ers Game Plan,” Shanahan spoke about spoke about how well the All-Pro linebacker performing.
“It's weird for me to say, but I would say yes,” Shanahan told Papa when asked if Warner was playing the best football of his career. “And the only reason that's weird is because he's played at such a high level for so many years. I think it was the year after our Super Bowl year in [2019], I think it was [the 2020 NFL season] that he got the new contract and was one of the highest or the highest paid in the league.
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“And you thought, he couldn't get much better then and Fred had a better year the next year and he's gotten better every year since. Just the way Fred works the way he does the offseason, the way he does practice every day, he's second to none in that aspect and it's led over to being second to none on the field too.”
While it’s still early in the 2024 season, Warner has had two incredible games, with one interception and three forced fumbles. Shanahan noted that the 27-year-old’s ball-stripping skills are at an elite level, even in practice.
“What he does with stripping that ball, it drives our offense crazy throughout the whole offseason,” Shanahan explained to Papa. “Everyone’s got bruises all over him because he's always trying to hit people, everyone tries to emulate him. The callouses on his knuckles from just punching so much. He is elite at it, and he does it better than anyone and we're all seeing a big-time Hall of Fame player have a Hall of Fame year right now.”
Warner’s strong start has been a boon for San Francisco’s defense, though the unit has had its share of struggles so far this season. After dominating the New York Jets in a Week 1 win, San Francisco’s defense got shredded by ex-quarterback Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings in a Week 2 loss.
San Francisco 49ers
With many of its offensive stars sidelined by injuries, the defense will have to continue to set the tone as the 49ers head into an NFC West showdown with the Los Angeles Rams. All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga is set to make his season debut as the unit looks to antagonize quarterback Matthew Stafford, who will be without his top two receivers.
As usual, look for Warner to be a key factor on defense, and don’t be surprised to see him punch out a ball or two.