49ers star linebacker Fred Warner gets first career All-Pro nod
Fred Warner this week received two of the 49ers’ most prestigious team awards. And on Friday, the talented linebacker earned one of the most coveted nods in the NFL.
Warner, for the first time, was named a first-team All-Pro by The Associated Press.
It came days after becoming San Francisco’s first player since Justin Smith in 2011 to win the Len Eshmont Award (for courageous play, voted on by teammates) and the Bill Walsh Award (the team’s most valuable player, voted by coaches). This season was also the first time Warner was named to the Pro Bowl.
The third-round pick from BYU in 2018 led the team in tackles for the second straight season. He was key in San Francisco’s defense finishing ranked fifth in the NFL despite dealing with a slew of injuries to key players like Nick Bosa, Richard Sherman and Dee Ford.
Warner, 24, on Monday said he appreciates the individual honors he’s received in his breakout season but noted those aren’t what drive him.
“I’m playing this game for my family, first and foremost,” Warner said over Zoom. “I play this game for respect. Since I came into this league that’s all I ever wanted was respect. Respect of my peers mostly. That’s my highest priority. When I step out on the field I’d rather be respected than liked. So when I go out there that’s what I’m going for.
“And, ultimately, I’m trying win a Super Bowl. I’m not playing for Pro Bowls. I’m not playing for All-Pros. I’m playing for that ring on my finger at the end of the year. And that’s what hurts the most knowing at the end of this season we don’t even have a shot at it. It kills me. It really does.”
Warner received more votes than any other linebacker. He was joined on the All-Pro team by Seattle’s Bobby Wagoner, whom Warner was compared to when he first entered the league and has recently developed a relationship with. Warner was the 49ers’ first defensive player to be named a first-team All-Pro since the player he helped replace, NaVorro Bowman, earned it in 2015.
The other linebacker to get recognized was Darius Leonard, a teammate of former 49ers defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, who was also named a first-team All Pro for the first time. Buckner was snubbed for the Pro Bowl despite helping the Colts finish with the eighth-ranked defense in the NFL. Buckner finished with 9.5 sacks, which included three multiple-sack games over the final five weeks.
Warner, like many of his teammates, was not at all happy with San Francisco’s 6-10 season following up their run to the Super Bowl in 2019. Injuries played a major role, but getting back to contention will take more than key players staying healthy. The 49ers are likely going to lose defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, Warner’s biggest advocate, to a head coaching job. That move will leave Warner tasked with holding down the fort during the transition to whoever fills Saleh’s shoes.
“When you’ve been there, you’ve played in it, it’s so much different. And then the following year to not even have a shot at it, it’s sick,” Warner said. “That’s why I’m going to come into this offseason and I know it’s going to be my best one yet. I have no doubt about it. I know I’m going to be very meticulous in the way I go about it. Everything is going to be planned out, step by step. And you’ll see a completely different player next year.”
