NFL.com issues carbon-copy ranking of PFF's 49ers linebacker duo

If imitation is a form of flattery, NFL.com loves how Pro Football Focus ranked the 49ers' top two linebackers, Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw.
San Francisco 49ers linebackers Fred Warner (L) and Dre Greenlaw (R)
San Francisco 49ers linebackers Fred Warner (L) and Dre Greenlaw (R) / Michael Zagaris/GettyImages
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Pro Football Focus already declared the San Francisco 49ers have the best linebacker in the NFL today, Fred Warner.

They also decreed the Niners having another backer in the top 10, too, Dre Greenlaw, who came in ranked No. 8 out of PFF's 32 best linebackers entering the 2023 season.

Few San Francisco fans would disagree. While general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have spent numerous resources investing in the defensive line, the 49ers linebacker corps has been a continuous strength since both Warner and Greenlaw started playing alongside each other in 2019.

It's not just PFF that takes notice either.

NFL.com ranks 49ers LBs Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw identically to PFF.

It's the NFL offseason, so not much is going on around the league aside from the normal musings, overreaching predictions and such.

There are plenty of rankings, too, and NFL.com's Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah just compiled their list of the 10 best linebackers heading into the upcoming season.

You probably won't be shocked at where both Warner and Greenlaw landed:

How about that? Warner is again at No. 1, while Greenlaw winds up at No. 8, too. It's almost as if Brooks and Jeremiah saw what PFF had to say about the Niners' two playmakers.

Read more: Pro Football Focus ranks 49ers LBs the best in the NFL (again)

Now, there are some differences between NFL.com and PFF elsewhere within the top 10, so we know it's not an exact carbon copy. And those 10 best players are all among the league's elite regardless.

Although few would argue against Warner being the "best of the best," putting things into a Top Gun perspective.

San Francisco will look to both Warner and Greenlaw as defensive centerpieces for the upcoming season, and there are few reasons to suggest this duo will decline in prowess anytime soon and as long as they are playing alongside each other

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