'He engulfs people:' Trent Williams is chasing history
He's Canton-bound. He has a chance to be the greatest tackle ever, too. Bob McGinn once again digs through the archives to see how the scouts viewed the 49ers' star left tackle.
This is the fifth part of a series looking at active players and their current situation vis a vis what it was entering the NFL draft. The comments from personnel men were made to me in the months leading up to the draft for my NFL Draft. Series, which dates to 1985. Scouting football prospects is an inexact science, especially when it comes to off-the-field factors. It has been said that no two evaluators view a player exactly the same way.
On the eve of his senior season at Oklahoma in 2009, Trent Williams told The Oklahoman that his idol was Walter Jones of the Seattle Seahawks.
“I just have always liked his style of play,” Williams told the newspaper. “I try to follow him as much as I can, but he’s the best. He wore the same number (71) and we played the same position. I thought he was so good so I kept watching him.”
Today, some of the tackles preparing to enter the NFL draft in April might be patterning their games after Williams. His brilliant career, now in its 14th year (10 with Washington, the last 3 ½ with San Francisco), mirrors that of Jones, who played at an elite level for almost all of his 12 seasons.
Jones, 49, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014, his first year of eligibility, after being voted to the Pro Bowl eight straight times and making The Associated Press All-Pro first team four times.
Williams, 35, should be a lock to be enshrined in Canton after being voted to 10 straight Pro Bowls and earning All-Pro first-team honors twice.
Bob McGinn takes readers inside the HQ of teams once more with this series. He has previously profiled Jared Goff, Justin Fields, Brock Purdy and Jordan Love. Subscribers can access in full.
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