While the 49ers’ offense is so often lauded for its array of versatile offensive weapons, there may not be a more important piece than left tackle Trent Williams. Heading into his age 35 season, Williams is still perhaps the best player in all of football, and he landed at No. 1 in Touchdown Wire’s ranking of the top 11 offensive tackles in the NFL.
Williams is an exceedingly rare combination of size, strength and athleticism that allows him to put together a highlight tape of dominant run blocks at the line and in the second level, while also standing firm as one of the best pass-blockers at his position.
Here’s TD Wire’s Doug Farrar on Williams’ incredible run over the last two seasons:
Over the last two seasons, the future Hall of Famer (book it right now) has allowed just two sacks, eight quarterback hits, and 32 quarterback hurries. Last season, with no clear winner in the QB Derby, and all kinds of question marks everywhere else on the line, Williams gave up one sack, two hits, and 16 hurries, with just two hits and three hurries coming in pass sets.
While Williams is dominant in-line, some of the funniest tape you’ll see is when he gets on the move, and second- and third-level defenders have to deal with the idea of No. 71 aiming his 320-pound frame right at them.
No thank you, please.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is able to work around some other question marks on the offensive line thanks in part to his dominant left tackle. Knowing that the QB’s blind side is safe, and any run to that side will be aided by the NFL’s best run blocking tackle helps a play caller stack plays together more confidently.
San Francisco can figure out its offense if one of its star play makers goes down. If they lose Williams for an extended period though it may be hard for the 49ers’ offense to reach a championship level.
