No one in the NFL has stockpiled more tackles the past four seasons than 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis.

But one player in the 49ers locker room does own more tackles than Willis this season: fellow inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman.

Bowman is coming off a career-best 17 tackles in the 49ers’ win at Detroit that boosted them into the bye week at 5-1. His team-leading 68 tackles are three more than Willis has totaled.

“I don’t really pay attention to (stats) — it’s a team effort,” Bowman said. “I’m just doing my job out there, and that’s to make tackles, make plays and get our offense back on the field.”

That may be so, but Bowman is doing his job so well that it’s hard to fathom he has been a full-time starter for only six games. When the 49ers host the Cleveland Browns (3-3) on Sunday, Bowman will continue to be an essential cog in the NFL’s second-ranked run defense.

The second-year player has evolved into a perfect complement next to Willis, a spot that opened up when Takeo Spikes left in free agency for the San Diego Chargers.

“I think playing alongside Takeo helped me as a young player,” Willis said. “Playing with Takeo really calmed me down. He was there when I didn’t understand myself.

“But now to have someone like NaVorro, who’s young and kind of like where I was when Takeo came (in 2008), I just hope that he can continue to grow, continue to prosper as he has, and I know he will.”

At this rate, Bowman might be accompanying Willis, a four-time Pro Bowler, to Honolulu for the Pro Bowl game Jan. 29, unless the 49ers have a game a week later in Super Bowl XLVI. (Online fan voting began Tuesday at NFL.com.)

“My confidence, comfort level and everything is where I want it to be six games into the season,” Bowman said. “It can do nothing but get better. I come in every day and prepare myself for the opponent. I feel great.

“The guys are excited about my play, and I am, too.”

Those guys include his teammates and coaches. They haven’t been singing his praises just the past couple weeks, but rather since training camp.

Coach Jim Harbaugh singled out Bowman’s efforts after an Oct. 2 win at Philadelphia, when Bowman excelled on third downs and memorably chased down quarterback Michael Vick on one scramble.

Bowman finished off his 17-tackle effort at Detroit by stopping running back Jahvid Best for a 1-yard loss. Best subsequently missed the Lions’ next game because of a concussion.

Bowman originally was credited with 13 tackles against Detroit but picked up four more after the 49ers coaches reviewed the film.

“It’s not just tackling in the box. It’s hustling to the ball and making plays that are not really yours,” Bowman said. “Those are when tackles get added up. If you run to the ball, you’ll continue to get tackles, and that’s pretty much all I’ve been doing.”

That’s pretty much why he is having a breakout season. A third-round draft pick in 2010 out of Penn State, Bowman was far from a household name after his rookie season.

Forty-niners ﻿cornerback Carlos Rogers, for one, admitted he was unfamiliar with Bowman when their paths crossed in Washington, D.C., this past offseason. But they had a common friend and started hanging out together.

“I came to find out he plays for the San Francisco 49ers,” Rogers said. “He’s just a good player all around. He’s a young guy. Nothing against Takeo — we’re real tight — but you can see why they let him go and let Bo play.

“He’s a young guy and is going to be here a long time. He has the mindset of Patrick, that can cover, that can hit, that can take on blocks, that understands the defense.”

That 49ers defense is ranked second in the league against the run (74.7 yards per game). It has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 28 consecutive games. It is the only defense that has not surrendered a rushing touchdown this season.

Perhaps most important, the 49ers have allowed only six touchdowns on 19 drives inside their 20-yard line. That 31.6 percentage ranks as the league’s best red-zone defense.

“That’s pretty much our job: to stop touchdowns from being scored,” Bowman said.

By doing that, Bowman is off to a super start to his season, as are the 49ers.

For more on the 49ers, see Cam Inman’s Hot Read blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/49ers.