49ers-Patriots: Fred Warner continues to build POY-type of resume with early season performance

Four games into an NFL season is obviously too early to have any serious discussions about postseason awards, but it isn't a stretch at this point to say that 49ers linebacker Fred Warner will be on the short list for the league's Defensive Player of the Year honor if he maintains his current level of play throughout the remainder of the year.

Warner had seven tackles and a pick-six for the 49ers in a 30-13 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday, which puts him at 27 tackles, two interceptions, three forced fumbles, one sack, and one touchdown through four games. Warner left Sunday's win over the Patriots early due to an ankle injury, but not before leaving a lasting impact on the outcome of the game.

"He's pretty good, isn't he? Goodness gracious," tight end George Kittle said Sunday.

Warner's interception came with the 49ers up 6-0 early in the second quarter. Warner jumped in the air to grab a pass thrown by Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett, then got up after crashing to the ground and ran through the Patriots' offense before diving into the end zone. The 49ers were coming off two missed opportunities for early touchdowns on offense where they had to settle for field goals instead, so Warner's touchdown served as the main spark in an early scoring onslaught that ended with the 49ers taking a 20-0 second quarter lead.

"I was actually frustrated at first because he had as many points as the Niners offense did to start the game," Kittle said. "So I'm glad that we got some more points on the board, but yeah, just a heck of a play. Hopefully he hit like 17 miles an hour. I don't know if he did, but I'm pumped for him."

Warner deflected praise for his interception to his teammates while discussing the play with reporters after the game, pointing out that he wouldn't have been able to score without his fellow defenders setting up some blocks along the way.

"As soon as I got up, I found some green grass," Warner said. "You know, I'm excited to go back and watch it, to see the effort that my guys were giving to get blocks. I mean, you don't get in the end zone unless you got your teammates having your back in that situation. So I'm happy we got that one."

Warner needed to channel some extra energy to get into the end zone because of his leaping grab, but he found enough in the end to give the 49ers their first touchdown of the afternoon.

"After catching it, I guess I was in the air a little bit, and I fell with no type of something to break the fall," Warner said. "So I kind of landed on my back, lost wind, but I got up and ran anyway, so I was winded for sure. I was trying to catch my wind at that point."

Warner has been the 49ers MVP through four games and has been playing at a level that is as elite as anything he's shown throughout his career. That says a lot, considering he's been named a first-team All-Pro three times and has long been regarded as one of the league's best at his position.

"He's always played at the highest of levels," defensive end Nick Bosa said Sunday. "Sometimes things come your way in a game and he's taking advantage of all those opportunities. So obviously his stats are crazy right now. I don't see it slowing down."

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan thinks Warner may be playing the best football of his career, even though it's difficult to say for sure if he's been clearly better than what he showed over his first six NFL seasons.

"I do a little bit. It's kind of hard to say that; he's been so good every year," Shanahan said. "But the way he started out this year, it's been a big time year for him so far."

Warner is not surprisingly remaining modest about any praise he's been getting over his hot start. He even turned some of the attention towards assistant head coach Brandon Staley when discussing his performance on Sunday.

"I mean, I'm just trying to do my best, you know, whatever that takes for the team," Warner said. "Honestly, the play today, I've been talking about that for weeks now. Coach 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 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."

But while Warner may be humble about his four-game effort, his teammates haven't been able to praise him enough. Expect that to continue and spread throughout the NFL if he continues to make plays at his current rate.

"I feel like he's been playing like the MVP of the whole league," cornerback Charvarius Ward said Sunday. "He's definitely Defensive Player of the Year so far. If he keeps that up, it's gonna be a legendary season for him."