Outscoring the New York Jets on Sunday no doubt felt good, and lots of Raiders fans can relate to this feeling. However, one number has followed this defense all season and refuses to leave. The Raiders allow 5.1 yards per carry, which is the worst in the NFL, and five straight opponents have put at least 30 points on the board.
The San Francisco 49ers sit near the other end of that list allowing just 3.5 yards per carry. Their defense runs through linebacker Fred Warner, and nobody on that roster would look better in Silver & Black.
Taking away the big runs
San Francisco has allowed 623 rushing yards in the last seven games and hasn't given up a single run of 20 or more yards. On the other hand, the Raiders have allowed 1,171 yards and eight of those 20-yard runs, and too
many of those chunk plays have turned winnable games into shootouts.
Warner ranks sixth in the NFL with 72 tackles, and running backs have found nothing between the tackles against that defense.
Give Nakobe Dean the help he deserves
Credit where it is due, linebacker Nakobe Dean has been one of the few bright spots on this defense. He ranks fourth in the NFL with 80 tackles, has forced three fumbles, and plays every snap as if he was built for it.
Even a tackling machine needs company, though. A league-worst 5.1 yards per carry tells me too many of the defense's stops come after the runner has picked up a chunk. Sliding Warner next to Dean would give the Raiders two linebackers who can meet backs at the line.
Seeing plays before they happen
Since Week 4, no defense has been worse against pre-snap motion than the Raiders, per BetMGM's matchup data. Offenses keep shifting players around before the snap, and the Raiders keep getting punished.
Warner might be the best in football at sorting out that kind of chaos. His four forced fumbles through seven games are tied for the NFL lead, so he gets to the ball fast (and with bad intentions too).
Klint Kubiak has seen it up close
Head coach Klint Kubiak was the 49ers' passing game coordinator in 2023, so his offense lined up against Warner every day in practice. Warner was a first-team All-Pro that season, one of four times he has earned the honor.
Few people in the Raiders' building understand better how one linebacker can wreck a game plan. Kubiak wouldn't need a scouting report on this guy because it’s pretty much obvious.
Plays through anything
Warner revealed in 2024 that he had been playing on a fractured bone in his ankle for two months, and he still finished as a first-team All-Pro. A year later, he dislocated and broke his ankle against Tampa Bay and needed season-ending surgery.
He hasn't missed a game this season, and his three-year, $63 million extension keeps him signed through 2029. The 49ers would hang up before the Raiders finished dialing, and I wouldn't blame them one bit. If I'm picking one player off that roster, though, Warner is the guy, and it isn't close.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Gimme Him: 49ers LB Fred Warner could improve the Raiders' run defense
