Do the 49ers have the best LB group?

The San Francisco 49ers ' defense has typically been anchored by a strong linebacker room, and that will be extremely prevalent in 2026. Despite suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Week 6 of this past season, starting linebacker Fred Warner should return to full strength to lead this group. So, as Sports Illustrated's Gilberto Manzano named the best team at each position on the field, he ranked the 49ers as the best linebacker unit in the NFL because of Warner and the accompanying players around him.

He’s in the back end of his prime, entering his age-30 season, but what he did in the first quarter of last season showed he still has plenty to offer. He carried a young San Francisco defensive front and was well on his way to being a Defensive Player of the Year contender before the injury. Also, the 49ers reunited Warner with Dre Greenlaw, who spent last season in Denver before returning to the team that drafted him in 2019.

The combination of Warner and Greenlaw again certainly buoys the 49ers' linebacker room, but even Dee Winters and Tatum Bethune are solid players to round out the unit. Winters led the team with 101 combined tackles, while Bethune added 94 combined tackles himself in just eight starts when Warned was injured. These four players could start on any team in 2026, but the 49ers have the luxury of being able to rotate them in and out of lineups at will throughout the year.

For defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, that flexibility will be a huge boon in a competitive NFC West that boasts the 2026 Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks as well as the NFC runner-up Los Angeles Rams. This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Do the 49ers have the best LB group?