Fred Warner says his durability is no accident, and the 49ers linebacker has a very specific explanation for why his body keeps holding up. A DEXA body composition scan taken last year showed that his bones were six times denser than the average human, which helped him understand why he has been able to stay so healthy.
“Some guys have a freakish ability to run fast,” he says. “My freakish ability, I guess, is having thick bones to help me stay healthier.”
Warner has also spent the offseason sharpening a part of his game that could give San Francisco another layer on defense: one-on-one pass-rush chances against running backs. It’s an area he hasn’t been asked to attack often before, but Holland hopes that changes this season. Warner, for his part, thinks 2026 could be the year he climbs even higher if he raises his competitive level and becomes more of a “maniac on the field” while pushing back against age.
Thirty, the way he sees it, is an opportunity. So is coming back from injury.
On the draft front, the 49ers’ decision to stay put and take De’Zhaun Stribling drew attention because other teams had him graded highly too. On NFL Live, Adam Schefter said there was a sense around the league that Stribling might have gone too early for some, but he also noted that a few teams he spoke with before the draft believed the receiver was the best in the class.
“Another team, supposedly the Los Angeles Rams, had eyes on him. So, the 49ers didn’t just come up with this pick out of nowhere. They knew that there were other teams that had a very high grade on Stribling when the 49ers declined to trade out the top draft slot in the second round and take him there.”
The 49ers also got a little more clarity on how Brock Purdy can be helped along as he continues to grow. Steve Young said Purdy’s game is built on the first couple seconds of a play, which makes quick separation from receivers essential.
“His game is the first couple seconds,” Young said. “Process, get some protection, have some weapons-as good as it gets.
To help him thrive-and every quarterback needs lots of help to thrive-we need some people that can get open quickly,” Young said. “Brandon Aiyuk was somebody who got open on the perimeter quickly-and that’s what his game is.
Get open, show up, bam, get the ball to him and go.”
“So, Mike, Ricky, they need to be people that can get off the line of scrimmage quickly, get open, get the ball out,” Young added. “That’s when he’s going to be deadly.”
That idea connects directly to the 49ers’ 2026 uniform schedule, which the team unveiled with a throwback-heavy slate and a new Rivalries look. The red throwbacks will show up twice in the regular season, first on the road against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 10 and then at home against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 17. The white throwbacks are set for one appearance in Week 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers, and the black Nike Rivalries uniform will debut in Week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams.
There’s also a broader football point tied to the roster and how the offense looked in 2025. One breakdown of the biggest difference between the 2025 and 2026 49ers pointed to the wide receiver room and how much easier life should be for Purdy if the group can simply separate and finish plays.
That analysis noted that while Purdy was under pressure on 39% of his dropbacks, he still had time to throw - on average, 4.24 seconds on 33 dropbacks - but there was often nowhere to go with the ball. He completed only 55.6% of his passes because the receivers weren’t getting open.
The review also pointed to Next Gen Stats’ catch rate over expected metric, which showed the wideouts in the negatives across the board. Ricky Pearsall’s numbers were described as so low they looked entered incorrectly, and the combination of Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne against an elite secondary was framed as a tough situation from the start.
The ripple effects went beyond the passing game. Safeties were able to creep closer to the line of scrimmage without worrying about being beaten deep, which let defenses crowd George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey underneath. The lack of physicality from the receivers also showed up in the run game, where McCaffrey had to do a lot of the heavy lifting behind the line of scrimmage because the blocking wasn’t there.
The piece argued that the receiver upgrade changes everything, and it singled out Mike Evans as the kind of addition that would alter the way defenses play San Francisco. He would give the 49ers a threat on every down, a reliable third-down target, and a way to move Pearsall away from top coverage. When Pearsall faced a CB2 last season, he was able to make mincemeat of lesser corners.
In Other News...
49ers Suddenly Face A Brutal Question About One Young Running Back
Isaac Guerendo was supposed to be part of the 49ers long-term answer at running back after a promising rookie year, but a recent roster projection has put his future in a far different light. Drafted in the fourth round in 2024, Guerendo flashed enough as a first-year player to look like a useful piece in San Franciscos backfield, only to see his role disappear in 2025, when he appeared in 14 games without recording an offensive touch.
The bigger concern now is what comes next, because the projection has the 49ers carrying a different mix in the backfield and treating Guerendo as the odd man out. Between his injury last season and the rise of Jordan James, the path back onto the roster has gotten much narrower, and for a young player who seemed to have momentum not long ago, that is a sharp turn in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
49ers May Have Found Unexpected Help For A Major Defensive Need
The 49ers spent much of the 2025 season trying to patch up a run defense that too often gave ground in the middle, even after adding help to the interior. That makes every fresh body at defensive tackle worth watching, especially when the player arrives with a reputation for doing the dirty work against the run.
One of the more interesting additions is former Illinois tackle James Thompson Jr., whose calling card is stopping the run and who now gets a real shot to push for a place in training camp. The path is still narrow, though, because he will need to show more as an interior pass rusher if he wants to turn that opening into a spot on the 53-man roster. [Read more 🡒]
George Kittle Just Added More Tension To The 49ers Aiyuk Drama
Brandon Aiyuks social-media frustration with the 49ers has been lingering in the background for a while, and George Kittle did little to cool it off when he was asked about the situation. Kittle backed the organizations handling of the matter and framed the whole thing as part of the messy reality of contract talks, which is hardly a surprise in a league where even productive players can find themselves stuck in a prolonged standoff.
The uncomfortable part for San Francisco is how much this saga circles back to timing. The 49ers had earlier chances to lock Aiyuk in at a lower price before the market moved, and now the discussion is less about whether the relationship has been strained than how much farther it can stretch. Aiyuks latest post about Christian McCaffrey only added another layer to a situation that already feels like it is waiting for the next public reaction. [Read more 🡒]