San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner made a great impression in his first appearance as an NFL analyst on ESPN during Wild Card weekend, leaving ESPN executives and talent highly optimistic about his future on air.

Warner joined the special playoff edition of Sunday NFL Countdown ahead of the second day of playoff games, breaking down everything from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ future to his teammate Brock Purdy’s next contract.

Now, The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch reports that ESPN producers as well as fellow linebacker Tedy Bruschi believe Warner has the talent to get a full-time seat like that whenever he wants it.

“Honestly as good as I’ve seen from a current player in a long time, especially at his age,” ESPN vice president of production Seth Markman told Deitsch. “He has a bright future in the business down the road.”

Markman also conveyed a conversation with Bruschi, a regular host of Sunday NFL Countdown throughout the season, following Warner’s appearance. Bruschi told Markman after a day working with Warner, “this guy can take my seat.”

“I always evaluate the guests that are with us. Over the course of 16 years, Fred’s the only one I thought: ‘This guy can take my seat,’” Bruschi told Markman.

Just 28 with a bright future in the NFL ahead, Warner showed quickly that whenever he hangs it up, he has the chops be successful on television. When discussing Purdy, for instance, Warner proved that he can go beyond homerism and biased praise of his teammate and take viewers a level deeper with what makes Purdy special.

“Brock Purdy is made of the right stuff,” Warner said. “I think the thing that’s the biggest deciding factor in elite quarterbacks is the processing speed. How do you process the game when bullets are flying, everything’s on the line, and being able to read coverages, diagnose, deliver the football, extend plays. And Brock Purdy does it all at a high level, so he’s about to be a very rich man soon and I can’t wait to see it.”

Clip from Fred Warner’s appearance on ESPN NFL Countdown on Brock Purdy from the weekend:

“Brock Purdy, he’s the man. He will be the 49ers QB for a very, very long time with plenty of Super Bowl rings on his hand.”

Via: @ESPNNFL pic.twitter.com/81IByEmIzU

— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) January 13, 2025

As with Cameron Jordan getting a trial run at Fox earlier this season, every current athlete gets served a softball of talking about their current team. Warner took it a step further, giving a great taste of what his employer and the audience can expect in the future.

If Bruschi, as thoughtful a former football player as there is who played the same position as Warner at a very high level, believes the San Francisco star is ready for primetime (or early-mornings, as it were), that’s all the co-sign Warner needs.