49ers legend's high praise for LB corps should leave fans ecstatic about future

If there's one thing the San Francisco 49ers have been blessed with in recent memory, it's been stellar linebacker play. From Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman to Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, San Francisco has often employed arguably the best linebacker duos in the NFL.

However, an injury-plagued 2024 campaign limited Greenlaw to just two games, and in March, Warner's running mate bolted to the Denver Broncos, signing a relatively hefty three-year, $31.5 million deal, opening up a void in the middle of San Francisco's defense.

That left seldom-used 2023 sixth-round pick Dee Winters to step up and fill the void left by Greenlaw, causing much consternation amongst the fan base. The return of Robert Saleh to coordinate the defense made the situation seem even more precarious.

While linebacker has become a devalued position around the league, its importance in Saleh's scheme cannot be overstated. Saleh relies on athletic linebackers with speed and coverage chops; however, the smaller players he favors also have a lot of responsibility in the run game with the defensive line one-gapping and aggressively charging upfield on every play.

That makes linebacker play exceedingly important, and the defense could falter greatly without exceptional performance from this unit. Through two weeks, the defense has been integral to both victories, with the play of Fred Warner and Dee Winters being key to the success.

49ers legend Patrick Willis has high praise for linebackers Fred Warner and Dee Winters

The play of the men in the middle drew the attention of Hall of Famer Patrick Willis, who took to Twitter/X to praise the duo a day after Warner earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Willis, who accumulated seven Pro Bowls and five first team All-Pro selections over his eight-year career, certainly knows a thing about linebacker play, so when he speaks on the topic one would be wise to listen.

The Niners legend called out Warner as "one of the best" in the game, not a surprise obviously, and praised his tutelage of Winters, who he described as "leveling up every snap."

It's Winters who has been the true pleasant surprise this season. After winning the training camp battle, the third-year man ranks 13th in the league in PFF defense grade at 78.5. Warner, of course, ranks first with a stellar 93.2 mark.

Winters has fared particularly well in coverage, where he's allowed a paltry 4.1 yards per reception. His ability to quickly close on ball carriers has led to him recording nine "stops" plays that constitute failures for the offense, which ranks fifth among linebackers who have played at least 80 snaps through the first two weeks.

While that has been some unexpectedly solid play from the 24-year-old, he has struggled in the run game, where he's posted a 48.3 PFF grade, ranking 52nd out of 61 linebackers who have played at least 80 snaps.

Fortunately, he has Warner by his side, who has been stellar in this facet as well, with an 87.6 mark that ranks fifth in the NFL among linebackers. With Warner mentoring Winters, he'll surely improve in this area as the season wears on.

The last factor that should have fans feeling optimistic about the future of the linebacker position is the presence of Robert Saleh at the helm. Saleh molded Warner from a raw hybrid linebacker/safety in college to perhaps the best linebacker in the game, and also oversaw the transformations of Quincy Williams from a waiver wire castoff to a first-team All-Pro selection and Jamien Sherwood from a project safety-to-linebacker conversion to the NFL's third-leading tackler in 2024 during his tenure as the New York Jets head coach.

Saleh is a linebacker whisperer, and with his former protege, Warner, now leading the charge along his side, the present and the future are both very bright in the middle of San Francisco's defense.