Before he became one of the NFL’s premier, yes, punchers, Fred Warner grew up in a household he describes as “anti-violence, violent sports … aside from football.” Warner still gravitated toward the gridiron, and by his third or fourth youth season, he connected how the other combat sports applied to his. “There’s tons of stuff that can be applied,” Warner says. “That’s why I still [train in striking] to this day.”
The 49ers selected Warner in the third round of the 2018 draft. And in his rookie season, Warner first heard about a technique he hadn’t yet considered. It dislodged footballs from the muscled arms of ballcarriers: the Peanut Punch. Warner, studious by nature, watched clips and began to practice his own strikes. He also familiarized himself with the technique’s namesake, Charles “Peanut” Tillman, and saw the best puncher “to ever do it, just the pinpoint accuracy and trying to replicate that.”
