49ers star Warner joins 10-sack, 10-pick club as DPOY résumé grows originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
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 I’m not sure it’s 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 six seasons, yet 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’s 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 recepient.
The All-Pro’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…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/49ers-star-warner-joins-10-000036185.html
Author : NBC Sports BayArea
Publish date : 2024-10-02 00:00:36
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