Madden NFL 24 Player Ratings: 49ers' Fred Warner, Ravens' Roquan Smith Lead Top 10 LB

The San Francisco 49ers have star power all over the field, including the league's top linebacker.

At least according to Madden NFL 24.

Madden released the player ratings for the league's best linebackers on Friday, and 49ers star Fred Warner topped the list at 96 overall. He is followed by Roquan Smith of the Baltimore Ravens, Lavonte David of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Haason Reddick of the Philadelphia Eagles and Demario Davis of the New Orleans Saints as players who earned a rating of at least 90:

1. Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers (96 overall)

2. Roquan Smith, Baltimore Ravens (92 overall)

3. Lavonte David, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (91 overall)

4. Demario Davis, New Orleans Saints (90 overall)

5. Bobby Wagner, Seattle Seahawks (89 overall)

6. Matt Milano, Buffalo Bills (88 overall)

7. Nick Bolton, Kansas City Chiefs (87 overall)

8. Tremaine Edmunds, Chicago Bears (87 overall)

9. Dre Greenlaw, San Francisco 49ers (86 overall)

10. Shaquille Leonard, Indianapolis Colts (86 overall)

Warner's rating is a testament to his overall consistency.

San Francisco selected him in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft, and he has played in at least 16 games with at least 118 tackles in each of his five seasons. He is a two-time Pro Bowler and two-time First Team All-Pro selection after being honored with both during the 2022 campaign.

The BYU product finished last season with 130 tackles, 10 passes defended, two sacks, one interception and one forced fumble as the stabilizing force in the middle of San Francisco's defense. He plugs holes against the run, pursues ball-carriers with sideline-to-sideline speed and drops back into pass coverage as necessary.

He is the gold standard of NFL linebackers, but Smith isn't far behind.

Smith too entered the league in the 2018 NFL draft and has never finished a season with fewer than 101 tackles. He was finally recognized for his consistency as a Pro Bowler and First Team All-Pro nod for the first time in his career last season, which he split between the Ravens and Chicago Bears.

Chicago traded him to the AFC club, and he wasted little time assimilating on his way to a combined 169 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, six passes defended, 4.5 sacks and three interceptions as someone who can also impact the game in a number of ways.

The phrase video-game numbers may refer to unbelievable offensive production, but Madden players hoping to tally some defensive stops could do far worse than selecting the 49ers or Ravens with Warner and Smith.