The secret superstars of Super Bowl LIV

Every Super Bowl has the potential for unheralded players to shine. Here are six such players who could make an impact in Super Bowl LIV.

LB Fred Warner

(Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports)

At 6-foot-3 and 236 pounds, Fred Warner came to the NFL in 2018 as a third-round pick of the 49ers, and one of the new breed of coverage linebackers just as comfortable playing safety and slot roles as he is crashing down on a run fit. An athletic prospect from BYU, Warner fit well into defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s paradigm for linebackers who can splay out against any multiple receiver set, and help cornerbacks and safeties with intermediate to deep coverage.

What the 49ers really require from Warner is the kind of effort plays only the most prominent linebackers can provide. He certainly did this on a receiver screen from Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams in the conference championship, following Green Bay’s best receiver outside the numbers and back on a play that could have been huge, but lost three yards because Warner wouldn’t let it go.

“They just threw a little bubble screen out into the flat, and I was in pursuit, and he happened to cut it back, and our defense does a great job of pursuing to the football.”

Warner acted like it was no big thing. Richard Sherman, pressed to remember the play, was more enthusiastic.

“He’s confident! I mean, he was a DB before. That translates really well for him. He had never played MIKE linebacker before he got to the NFL, but Saleh thought he was really smart and he could get it done, and he was right. Everything he thought about Fred has come to fruition. He’s really smart, he gets the defense lined up, he recognizes formations and routes. He’s really cool in his diagnosis, and he can run.”

Chiefs: Daniel Sorensen | Sammy Watkins | Charvarius Ward
49ers: Deebo Samuel | Fred Warner | Mike Person