Kyle Shanahan likens 49ers’ Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw to Bears All-Pro duo – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

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The 49ers have arguably the best running back duo in the NFL, and could go down in franchise and NFL history as one of the best ever.

Fred Warner has been one of the best midfielders in the league since 2018, while hard-hitting Dre Greenlaw first made a name for himself in 2019 and has improved every season since.

Now in their fifth season together, Warner and Greenlaw continue to torment opposing offenses and are coming off one of their best games in the 49ers’ win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5.

Kyle Shanahan joined Greg Papa on “49ers Game Plan,” where he was asked if Warner, who recorded a sack, an interception, a forced fumble and five tackles against the Cowboys, is playing the best football of his career. Not only did Shanahan agree, but he likened Warner and Greenlaw to the Chicago Bears’ linebacker duo of Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs from the early 2000s through the 2010s.

“Maybe. I mean he was pretty good for a long time, but he and [Dre] Greenlaw Together, we’re so lucky to have these guys. I feel like we get Urlacher and Lance in the same way that these two guys fly when a guy grabs them as soon as he turns around, and one of those guys hits them.

“They do it hard, and you know, it’s really good to see them hitting the ball and getting it out in practice because our offense, we’re getting a lot of shots from those guys. They’re punching us every game, in OTAs, in training camp, every day in practice, they have to You see the calluses on their knuckles. I mean, our guys have bruises all over their forearms and ribs, and they’re so bothered by it that they want me to stop, ask them to stop it. And I’m always on the verge of doing that because it gets messy sometimes. But then we all sit down And we watch them move into the game and I said, well, they can keep doing that to us because they’re doing that to the players in the game. “They’re not quite ready and they give that ball away a lot.”

Often times, Warner and Greenlaw are compared to the 49ers’ legendary running back duo of Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman, but the Bears’ tandem is perhaps even more impressive.

In 13 seasons with the Bears, Urlacher won Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, was an eight-time Pro Bowler, earned four All-Pro nominations, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018. In 12 postseasons with Chicago, Briggs was a seven-time Pro Bowler and earned one All-Pro nod.

Warner and Greenlaw still have a long way to go before they have as many accolades as Urlacher and Briggs, but even just the comparison from Shanahan is impressive.

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