Azeez Al-Shaair is Ascending to a Pro Bowl Level Player
There aren't enough positive things to say about Azeez Al-Shaair.
Anytime a player is having their best performance of their career, all you can do is be in awe of their growth.
The 49ers certainly are lucky to have Al-Shaair continue to be an anchor in their defense. Against the Seahawks this past Sunday, he cemented himself as an impact player for the 49ers. To do that with Fred Warner out for the first time is indicative of the player that Al-Shaair is becoming, and that type of player is Pro Bowl caliber.
Al-Shaair is ascending to a Pro Bowl level player.
What Al-Shaair has shown this season is he can perform at a relatively high level and on a consistent basis. He brings physicality to the defense both against the run and pass. The best part of all is his knack for swarming on the ball in an instant and being there to possibly force a turnover. The 49ers have desperately needed as they did not create much of anything in the turnover department.
Al-Shaair has certainly been a factor there. You cannot pull up highlights of the 49ers defense without seeing a handful of plays made by Al-Shaair. Now, he isn't on the elite level. Just because he is ascending to Pro Bowl level does not mean he is a top-tier player. He needs to continue the path of growth he is on now before that can happen. But still, the fact that the 49ers can have a Pro Bowl caliber player playing alongside an All Pro such as Warner is completely overpowered.
Again, to be able to step up against the Seahawks like Al-Shaair did was simply amazing. The guy is rising to the occasion each and every time. You can see why Kyle Shanahan and DeMeco Ryans have continued faith in him.
“I thought Azeez did really well," said Ryans on Al-Shaair's performance against Seattle. "He was he was calm. He communicated very well. He didn't try to do too much. He let the game come to him, made the plays that he was supposed to make. Made a huge play there for us at the end, as everybody saw, with him getting the ball out."
Creating turning-point moments in a game are enormous for any defensive player. Al-Shaair has continued to do that this season over and over again. With the rate he is going, there is no way Dre Greenlaw will have even a sliver of a chance to dethrone him at WILL linebacker. Al-Shaair is just having too sweet of a season.
"He's been having an outstanding year," Ryans said. "This is a career year for him and he's playing lights out every week and there hasn't been any let down from him. I love his energy, love his passion, love the way he plays the game, the physical mindset, he's everything you want in linebacker.”
The 49ers love Al-Shaair and rightfully so. Shanahan said last week that Warner is a leader that demonstrates on the field, not by any emotional speech. Lead by example basically and Al-Shaair is replicating that exquisitely.
With another pivotal matchup upcoming this week with the Bengals, the 49ers will need that turning point and high impact moments from Al-Shaair.
