Fred Warner the game wrecker: How 49ers’ star LB found his football voice

Eric Williams

NFC West Writer

Chris Hauser noticed Fred Warner’s presence as a gangly freshman at Mission Hills High in San Marcos, just north of San Diego.

He watched it grow as Warner developed into a playmaking two-way player who would eventually help lead his school to a CIF-San Diego section open championship during his senior season, earning a scholarship to BYU.

A team leader with a commanding voice that others would follow.

“It was the right voice,” Hauser told FOX Sports. “He wasn’t over-the-top. It wasn’t ‘look at me.’ He was a work-ethic guy and a great teammate – all the ingredients that you want with your guys. That was Fred.”

An edge rusher in high school and college who used his speed and athleticism to make plays in space and get after the quarterback, Warner successfully transitioned to inside linebacker in the pros with the San Francisco 49ers.

Warner, 27, just earned All-Pro honors for a third time in his sixth NFL season. He finished the 2023 season with 132 combined tackles, 2.5 sacks, 11 pass breakups, four interceptions and four forced fumbles. On Sunday, he’ll play in another NFC Championship Game (6:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).

Warner and Bobby Wagner are the only two players to record at least 115 tackles each season from 2018 to 2023. And it’s Warner’s production that allows him to take on the mantle as the leader of San Francisco’s defense, something that head coach Kyle Shanahan saw develop for Warner when he joined the team as a rookie third-round selection in 2018.

“It’s a lot easier to be a great leader, the better player you are,” Shanahan told reporters this week. “There are not many good leaders who aren’t really good players. It’s really hard for that to last. Guys eventually aren’t going to listen to you unless you’re balling on the field. So, Fred came in with the capabilities of being a great leader. … The way he can speak to guys, hold guys accountable. He got better and better because he played better and better.

“When you do that, people want to listen to you regardless of if you talk well. But Fred does. He speaks well. Guys, they know what he does all year. So, when you put in that type of work and it looks that way on the field, when Fred says something, you’ve got to listen. He’s earned that respect in every facet of his game.”

Warner said former 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who served as the team’s linebackers coach his rookie season, helped ease the transition to a new position.

“Trying to play Mike linebacker coming out of BYU and never playing off-the-ball linebacker and never giving calls before, I had a great coach in DeMeco Ryans who obviously played the position at a high level and was one of the best coaches out there,” Warner told reporters this week. “He told me from the start — you need to (be) demanding. You need to say the call with conviction when you’re out there. I took that and ran with it, and I was screaming them.”

Warner has developed into the gold standard at inside linebacker, a prime example of a modern-day linebacker with rangy athleticism. At 6-3 and 230 pounds, he can run sideline to sideline, create pressure as a blitzer and make plays in pass coverage as a zone defender.

Warner is the centerpiece of one of the NFL’s best defenses. The 49ers held opponents to 17.5 points per game and 89.5 rushing yards per contest, both No. 3 in the NFL.

49ers vs. Lions: Who has the edge?

But Warner and the 49ers will have their hands full defending one of the best offenses in the league in the Detroit Lions, featuring a stellar offensive line, quarterback Jared Goff, dynamic receivers like Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta and two good running backs in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.

[Lions vs. 49ers preview, predictions: What to expect in clash of grit vs. flash]

“You’ve got to perform at your best right now, when your best is needed,” Warner said about Sunday’s challenge. “It’s time to really put it out there and lead from the front. If we want to win this game, I’m putting it all in the defense’s hands.

“I’m saying all we need to do is score three on offense, and we’re going to win it for us. That’s the mindset we’ve got to go into this week with.”

Hauser said Warner’s jersey is the only one retired by his high school. Hauser has coached another prominent NFL player; New Orleans Saints receiver Chris Olave.

Hauser knows that Warner’s voice will help the 49ers find their way on defense.

“Initially I was like, ‘Ok, that’s not his comfort zone,” Hauser said. “That’s not where his experience is at. But as the game has changed in the NFL personnel-wise, there’s so much speed that Fred is now your quintessential linebacker in the NFL. He’s long, can run, has a high IQ and is very physical.

“So, it made sense after I sat down and reflected about it. And he’s delivered since Day 1.”

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.