San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner has been named to Pro Football Focus' (PFF) top 101 players from the 2024 NFL season. This marks his fifth consecutive appearance on the list, though he dropped 28 spots from last year, landing at No. 57.
"At a position where it's hard for players to be consistently elite, he has been just that," the analytics site noted. "The 28-year-old has been one of the four highest-graded linebackers in football in each of the last five seasons and has now placed second three years in a row, this time earning an 89.2 PFF grade."
Only Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun earned a higher defensive grade (90.1) when factoring in postseason play. During the regular season, Warner's 89.2 grade ranked third behind Baun and Washington Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner (89.9).
"While he's the third-ranked linebacker on this list, it's hard not to view Warner as the gold standard for the position," Pro Football Focus added.
Warner battled through much of the 2024 season with an ankle fracture suffered in Week 4 but still played all 17 games. He finished with 131 tackles (five for a loss), two interceptions—including one returned for a touchdown—one sack, seven passes defensed, and four forced fumbles.
Regarding the injury, Warner recently said, "It's just one of those nagging things, because injuries, it's like, they're either bad enough to keep you off the field or just good enough so you can keep playing. So it was one of those things where I was good enough to just keep playing and try to work through it."
The 49ers finished the season 6-11, missing the playoffs. When asked if fans can expect the team to return to the postseason next year, Warner confidently replied, "Absolutely. Yes."
