Fred Warner

Warner is the epitome of stability at the linebacker position, as he's tallied at least 115 tackles in every season of his career and has three straight seasons of at least 130 stops. He has always excelled in coverage in addition to stopping the run, but Warner has taken on additional responsibility as a defender against the pass in the last two seasons. He's managed a combined 21 passes defensed in that span, and he picked off four passes in 2023. That may not be repeatable, but Warner is among the safest projections at linebacker and is a well-rounded source of production.

Warner has been the model of consistency since entering the league, as he has played between 916 and 1,061 snaps while tallying between 118 and 137 tackles. While he doesn't supplement that with much in terms of pass rush, Warner has also established him as a solid coverage linebacker, breaking up at least six passes in four of his five years as a pro. There may not be much more upside in his profile, but there's also very little to complain about his proven level of production.

The 2021 season was perhaps the toughest of Warner’s career, as the normally invincible linebacker gave up more plays than usual. His IDP production actually benefited, with Warner posting a career-high 137 tackles on a career-low 932 snaps. Normally, he’s the kind of linebacker who doesn’t give up the catch, and even if he gives up the catch he makes the tackle before the first-down marker.

Warner would be higher on the list for real-life rankings, but he's such an exceptional coverage linebacker that what would-be tackles for other linebackers turn into incomplete passes when thrown his way. He has reliably hovered around the 120 tackles in three distinguished NFL seasons, which tends to slot him into LB2 territory for most IDP formats. Unfortunately, unless fantasy leagues devise a "punts forced" category he probably won't be a top-5 IDP linebacker, though it's easy to make the case that he's just that for the 49ers on the real football field.

Warner is an elite real-life linebacker thanks to his remarkable coverage abilities, though as an IDP his football skills almost work against him - he'd be a better IDP if he gave up more catches and piled up the resulting tackle opportunities. This means he's best thought of as an LB2 in most formats. Over his last two years, he totaled 242 tackles while playing 2,061 snaps - a solid tackle rate but one that threatens to trend toward the 100-tackle mark (rather than 120-plus) if his snap count slips below 1,000. Warner doesn't blitz much to offset this with just 1.5 sacks in the last two years, and while it wouldn't surprise if he goes on an interception spree one day, it's generally risky to chase turnovers with IDPs.

Warner was a revelation for the 49ers last season, filling in admirably for the released Reuben Foster. The 2018 third-round pick racked up 124 tackles (85 solo) with six passes defended over 16 games while taking over as the team's middle linebacker. This offseason, San Francisco signed Kwon Alexander to a large contract to take over at the Mike, but Warner will remain on the field for most situations playing alongside him at the Will position. The former may eat into the sophomore's tackle totals a bit, but Warner should still post IDP-relevant totals in 2019.