San Francisco 49ers star Fred Warner was once again named the top off-ball linebacker in the NFL this year via an anonymous poll of league coaches, scouts and executives.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Warner repeated after also being named No. 1 last year, and he garnered over 80 percent of the first-place votes this year.
The top 10 selections on the 2024 off-ball linebackers list are as follows:
Fred Warner (San Francisco 49ers)
Roquan Smith (Baltimore Ravens)
Matt Milano (Buffalo Bills)
Patrick Queen (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Nick Bolton (Kansas City Chiefs)
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (Cleveland Browns)
Tremaine Edmunds (Chicago Bears)
Demario Davis (New Orleans Saints)
Dre Greenlaw (San Francisco 49ers)
Foyesade Oluokun (Jacksonville Jaguars)
An NFL coordinator gave Fowler a glowing review of Warner’s play, saying: “He’s like an elite quarterback in terms of managing the game. Checks, adjustments, unbelievable awareness and instincts. He allows the other 10 people around him to function at a high level collectively because of what he’s able to do mentally.”
The 27-year-old Warner has been named a Pro Bowler and First Team All-Pro in three of the past four seasons, and he placed in the NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting for the first time last season, coming in sixth.
As the defensive leader for the NFC champion Niners, Warner racked up 132 tackles and 2.5 sacks last season, while also setting career highs with four interceptions and four forced fumbles.
In addition to Warner taking the top spot for the second year in a row, the No. 2 spot also remained unchanged with Roquan Smith of the Baltimore Ravens occupying second place in back-to-back years.
Smith, 27, is a polar opposite of Warner in many ways, as he primarily thrives close to the line of scrimmage.
Named a Pro Bowler and First Team All-Pro in each of his two seasons in Baltimore, the physical Smith registered 158 tackles, five tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and one interception last season, and he finished eighth in the DPOY voting for a Ravens team that had the best record in the NFL last season.
One other linebacker in this year’s top five also made the top five last year, that being Matt Milano of the Buffalo Bills.
Milano moved up one spot from No. 4 to No. 3 despite missing 12 games last season due to a tibial plateau fracture.
He made a massive impact in just five games, though, with 30 tackles and two interceptions on the heels of a career year in 2022 when he provided 99 tackles and three picks en route to his first career Pro Bowl and First Team All-Pro selection.
The top five is rounded out by two players who made a huge leap from last year’s list. Patrick Queen went from honorable mention to No. 4 after recording a career-high 133 tackles with the Ravens last season.
However, Queen won’t patrol the field alongside Smith any longer, as he signed a three-year deal with the rival Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency.
Nick Bolton of the Kansas City Chiefs jumped up from No. 8 to No. 5, and one anonymous NFL defensive coach called him “the closest thing to Fred Warner.”
While Bolton missed nine regular-season games in 2023 with a wrist injury, he was healthy for the playoffs, racking up 40 tackles in four postseason games, as the Chiefs won their second straight Super Bowl.
Not surprisingly, the 49ers are the only team with multiple representatives in the top 10, as Dre Greenlaw joins the No. 1-ranked Warner at No. 9.
Although Greenlaw has never been named a Pro Bowler or All-Pro, his impact on the San Francisco defense is undeniable, as he 120 tackles during the 2023 regular season, followed by 18 tackles and two interceptions in three playoff games.
Greenlaw suffered a torn Achilles during the Super Bowl that could cost him much or all of the 2024 campaign, and his presence will undoubtedly be missed in San Francisco.
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