Jonathan Vilma: 49ers LB Fred Warner strikes fear in opponents

Former Super Bowl champion linebacker Jonathan Vilma currently serves as an analyst for FOX Sports. Doing so, he has gotten looks at linebackers across the league. However, when asked who he considers the top linebacker in the NFL right now, Vilma responded by praising one San Francisco 49ers star defender.

"I'll give you my top one right now," Vilma said in an interview with Betway. "I really enjoy watching Fred Warner play for the San Francisco 49ers. I really enjoy his ability to convert very quickly from run to pass. He is equally aggressive in the run game as he is in coverage, and his skills and abilities in the passing game.

"You don't see that very often now with some of the middle linebackers. There's a difference between making tackles and being aggressive. There are a lot of middle linebackers right now that will make tackles, but they're not necessarily aggressive, and they don't strike fear in the opponent. Fred Warner does that."

Warner is entering his sixth NFL season. The linebacker is coming off a 2022 campaign that saw him racking up 130 tackles, three tackles for a loss, six quarterback hits, two sacks, 10 passes defensed, an interception, and a forced fumble through 17 starts, per Pro Football Reference.

Warner is a two-time first-team All-Pro and a two-time Pro Bowl selection. His Pro Football Focus run-defense grade of 89.7 was a career-high and ranked fourth among all NFL linebackers.

"In the run game, he stops the run, he's aggressive when he stops the run, he tackles well," Vilma continued. "And then in the passing game, he's phenomenal, so I like watching him a lot and really want young college linebackers to see what it is to play the middle linebacker position now, even against pass-happy offenses."