49ers LB Fred Warner is making his case as the NFL's best defensive player

• Unmatched in the record books: Since PFF began recording data in 2006, Fred Warner’s 95.9 PFF grade through the first four games of this season is the highest ever by a linebacker.

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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Since being drafted out of BYU in the third round of the 2018 draft, Fred Warner has skyrocketed to the top of the NFL, cementing his place as one of the league’s elite linebackers.

At this point, it's hard to find anyone better at the position — and he’s making a strong case as one of the best defensive players in the entire league.

As a key figure in the San Francisco 49ers defense, Warner saw his career take off in 2020 when he earned an 88.6 overall PFF grade and an elite 91.1 coverage grade.

Warner built on that success with three 80.0-plus PFF grades and earned an elite 90.0 last season, the highest among all linebackers.

Since his breakout in 2020, Warner has consistently ranked among the top players at the position, never grading lower than 12th and securing the top spot twice.

FRED WARNER: PFF GRADES AND RANK AMONG LINEBACKERS SINCE 2018

*Through Week 4

Despite all this, 2024 may be Warner’s best season yet.

Through the first four weeks of the 2024 season, Warner has posted an incredible 95.9 PFF grade, significantly outpacing second-place Micah McFadden‘s 90.2. Warner's 94.5 coverage grade also ranks first at the position, while his 88.8 run-defense grade ranks just behind Bobby Wagner (90.4) and McFadden (90.1).

He’s the only linebacker this season with multiple interceptions, one of which he returned for a score in Week 4 against New England.

The seventh-year linebacker has allowed only a single catch into his coverage in each of the four games he’s played and has allowed a passer rating of just 17.6 when targeted. He has been stout in the run game, as well, as he has already forced three fumbles and recorded 14 defensive stops.

To put Warner’s historic pace into perspective, his 95.9 PFF grade through the first four games of the 2024 season is the highest ever recorded by a linebacker since PFF began tracking data in 2006. The next closest mark over the opening four-week stretch belongs to Dan Connor, who earned a 94.2 grade through four games in 2010.

HIGHEST-GRADED LINEBACKERS FROM WEEK 1 TO WEEK 4 (2006-2024)

Warner's 94.5 coverage grade is also the best by a linebacker through this period, surpassing Keith Bulluck’s 92.5 in 2007.

Some of the greats of the 21st century, such as Ray Lewis, Luke Kuechly and Bobby Wagner, never came within three PFF grading points in either category.

The Niners star has recorded a 90.0-plus overall grade and coverage grade in three out of four games this year, the one exception being the 49ers’ loss to the Rams in Week 3, where his grades came in at 71.5 and 54.5, respectively.

His recent coverage stats from 2022 to Week 4 of the 2024 season not only highlight his excellence in pass defense but also show how well he compares to two of the best coverage linebackers of the modern era, Luke Kuechly and Bobby Wagner, during their highest-graded three-year stretches.

Kuechly’s 2014-2016 run and Wagner’s 2017-2019 period are considered among the best stretches at the position in the modern game, yet Warner’s performance stacks up remarkably well.

Warner’s 70.8% completion percentage allowed is lower than Kuechly’s (72.4%) and Wagner’s (75.4%) during their peak years despite being targeted 171 times — a significant volume. Warner has also allowed fewer first downs or touchdowns on his targets (31.0%) than Wagner (38.6%), showing his ability to minimize high-impact plays. Although Kuechly edges him slightly in this area at 28.6%, Warner still demonstrates remarkable consistency in coverage.

Warner excels in forcing incompletions, with an 11.1% forced incompletion rate that tops both Kuechly (10.6%) and Wagner (10.1%) of their peak years. And when looking at yardage, Warner’s efficiency shines, allowing only 0.86 yards per coverage snap, better than Kuechly (0.92) and Wagner (0.93).

In terms of coverage grades, Warner's 91.8 is right in line with Kuechly's 94.6 and Wagner's 91.6, which is a testament to Warner’s elite play. To be compared so favorably to Kuechly and Wagner during their peak years highlights Warner’s place among the top coverage linebackers of his era and underscores just how valuable he is to the 49ers defense.

Warner hurt his ankle in the win over New England last Sunday, but he doesn’t believe it will affect him too much, which is big news for a 49ers team that has been decimated by injuries this season.

With Warner playing at such a ridiculous clip, this 49ers defense should continue to be one of the stingiest in the league, setting up a potential run toward a fourth straight NFC championship game appearance.