Trent Williams navigates going out on top, while guiding a young 49ers tackle behind him

New York Times

9 hours ago

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Trent Williams, the best left tackle in the NFL, turned 37 last month and has talked this training camp about trying to gauge where the cliff is. He doesn't see it — the potential fall-off and end of his career — but most players in the NFL never do, as the cliff not only moves but sometimes teams just flat chuck you over it without warning.
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Williams is in great shape, and he goes against former Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa every day at 49ers practice, which gives him a good measuring stick.
'He can play as long as he wants — there is no drop-off,' offensive line coach Chris Foerster said Sunday. 'And that's something I haven't seen with a guy who is 37 in all my years of coaching.'
Williams is also busy pulling teammates like backup tackle Spencer Burford up the mountain, which helps keep the veteran young at heart and in mind. Burford was drafted out of Texas-San Antonio by the 49ers in the fourth round in 2022 and mentioned right after how excited he was to play with Williams. Williams reached out his hand the first time he met his fellow native Texan.
'Obviously, we clicked,' Williams said Friday. 'He's like a little brother to me now. I love him to death.' (The two actually share a birthday on July 19, which is great for Burford, as Williams owns his own jet and likes to spoil himself. 'He goes big,' Burford said, smiling, 'and I get to hang out in the background sometimes too.')
Burford said that Williams 'guides me in the right direction, on and off the field,' but working out with the veteran in the offseason did take some getting used to.
'It's like working out with a coach,' Burford said. 'A lot of guys, when they approach you to work out, it's just to get it done, it's something that they have to do. But with Trent, he loves it — it's a lot more details, a lot more focus and a lot more attention. Everything you do is intentional — whether it's 16 steps this way, 16 steps that way, how you eat, how you sleep.'
The two have been working out together in Houston in the offseason, and this summer, both Williams and Foerster think something really clicked. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Burford has returned to tackle — where he played in college — after starting 29 games at guard his first two seasons with the 49ers.
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Williams holds a camp for young offensive linemen at his gym in Houston, and Burford showed up weeks earlier than usual.
'He was just there working out with my trainer and stuff, just from the jump,' Williams said. 'As soon as the offseason kicked off, he was in there grinding.'
And it's paid off at training camp so far.
'You can see a noticeable change in his body — he put on more muscle and you can tell he worked on his explosiveness,' Williams said. 'He worked his butt off and you can just tell, he's got a step.'
Burford said, 'when a future Hall of Famer shows you the road, it's hard not to follow.'
Foerster has coached Williams for four years after he was drafted in Washington and then the last three in San Francisco, and has really enjoyed watching the veteran help guide Burford.
'I think it's been great,' Foerster said. 'Trent's good with all the guys. He likes coaching and he likes mentoring, and it's a cool dynamic to watch with Spence. As much as I can coach a player, to have Trent come behind — or before, they're gonna listen. Sometimes it's exactly what I'd say. Sometimes it's a little bit different, but it does help.'
As for Burford, Foerster said he's 'weathered the storm well' after some early-career struggles, 'and he's come out the other end a lot more mature.'
Burford said that he had to learn that you can't copy everything that Williams does. The 6-foot-5, 320-pound 11-time Pro Bowler has uncanny strength and agility and has some violent run-blocking techniques that are also unique.
'There's things that he can do that people can't replicate,' Burford said.
Williams smiled when he heard that.
'I beg to differ,' he said. 'I mean, I think he possesses the athleticism in his body. He has the foot movement. He has a great strike. He moved to tackle this camp and you can see it, man. He's playing in space and everyday he's taking a stride.'
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Now that Burford has moved over from guard, he can watch what Williams does in drills and try to immediately duplicate it.
Williams, meanwhile, has discovered that he has a passion for coaching.
'I always felt like offensive line was kind of an underserved position,' he said. 'There are 32 teams in the NFL and I think there are probably only four or five great O-line coaches. I always felt like this position was kind of slower evolving than all the rest … so that became my thing, giving back to the game I love by working with players.'
It's that added element to his playing career that may help Williams keep putting the pads on until he is 40. Because it's the offseason workouts and meetings that get to most players in their mid- to late thirties.
'How many more meetings can you sit in after 15 years of hearing the same play put in, and most of that is from my voice,' Foerster said. 'It's mind-numbing sometimes. Now, when it gets to the season, the players start competing every week. That's not the problem …
'As Trent said to me one day, 'You know, when I'm out here on this field, I play forever.' It's all the other things that lead to getting out on that field, which eventually chase guys out.'
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