On Sunday, San Francisco 49ers star linebacker Fred Warner will sit back and enjoy some football on television, just as many fans across the country do. He doesn't play in his Week 4 contest until the next night, and he rarely gets to take in so much of the gridiron action on the weekend. Instead, he's usually preparing for his own game.
Unlike most fans, though, Warner will be taking a more analytical approach to his football watching, trying to find something from his NFL peers that he might be able to apply to his own play and use against the Los Angeles Rams.
Even when Warner doesn't get to watch the games around the league, he often witnesses some amazing play. Several of his teammates are playmakers, after all. On Wednesday, Warner joined 95.7 The Game and was asked who some of those teammates might be—the ones to amaze him consistently.
One might think Warner went straight to phenom pass rusher Nick Bosa. Or maybe even nine-time Pro Bowl tackle Trent Williams on the other side of the ball. He did name one defensive player and one offensive player, but they weren't Bosa or Williams.
The first was second-year safety Talanoa Hufanga.
"I think Hufanga has been pretty amazing through three games, some of the stuff that he's been doing, just coming off the edge," Warner told Damon Bruce and Ray Ratto.
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And it's not just Hufanga's ability to make plays off the edge that has impressed the All-Pro linebacker. The young safety can consistently take opponents by surprise.
"No, it's happening every game," Warner continued. "You would think that people would know how to stop it by now, but you can't stop it when a guy's just relentless and playing fast and physical. It's hard to stop a guy like that."
Hufanga's 11 tackles for a stop lead all NFL defensive backs, per Pro Football Focus. His 80.9 defensive grade from the analytics site ranks third on the 49ers.
On the offensive side of the ball, the impact of the 49ers' do-everything wide receiver, Deebo Samuel, has been mitigated by opposing defenses through three games this season. Still, the self-proclaimed "wide back" is the second player named by Warner.
"I'd say every game somebody does something amazing," Warner said. "[Wide receiver] Deebo Samuel is constantly doing something amazing. He's running through somebody or making some kind of cut or something. I don't know. It's pretty cool to watch."
Samuel has 12 receptions for 131 receiving yards, and 17 carries for 111 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown through three games this season.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Warner below.
