Can Trent Williams play left tackle?

In your opinion, can Trent Williams play left tackle or is he going to be restricted to the right side his entire career?

its not an opinion it is a fact if he cant play left tackle in college he definetlly cant play in nfl thats why i wouldnt want him rather have okung bulaga davis cambell then trent in that order

He will start on the right side and be very good there. No one can say for certain that he 100% cannot play the left side. He might be able to slide over there when there is a need but the right side will be his spot.

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
He will start on the right side and be very good there. No one can say for certain that he 100% cannot play the left side. He might be able to slide over there when there is a need but the right side will be his spot.

Yes sir, He's a natural ROT. Which is now making me change my view on him over Bulaga. Bulaga played LT, but can also play RT well. Because Scotty loves versatility in his OLs, I think that if both Bulaga and Williams was there at #13, he would take Bulaga.

He is better value than Williams for this very reason.

Originally posted by ninertico:

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
He will start on the right side and be very good there. No one can say for certain that he 100% cannot play the left side. He might be able to slide over there when there is a need but the right side will be his spot.

Yes sir, He's a natural ROT. Which is now making me change my view on him over Bulaga. Bulaga played LT, but can also play RT well. Because Scotty loves versatility in his OLs, I think that if both Bulaga and Williams was there at #13, he would take Bulaga.

He is better value than Williams for this very reason.

I prefer Bulaga at this point which is why I put selected him at #13 in my mock. I agree that he is the more versatile player. Having said that, I still think Williams will be a good selection if Davis and Bulaga are both gone and that he could slide over to LT down the line if Staley got hurt.

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:

Originally posted by ninertico:

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
He will start on the right side and be very good there. No one can say for certain that he 100% cannot play the left side. He might be able to slide over there when there is a need but the right side will be his spot.

Yes sir, He's a natural ROT. Which is now making me change my view on him over Bulaga. Bulaga played LT, but can also play RT well. Because Scotty loves versatility in his OLs, I think that if both Bulaga and Williams was there at #13, he would take Bulaga.

He is better value than Williams for this very reason.

I prefer Bulaga at this point which is why I put selected him at #13 in my mock. I agree that he is the more versatile player. Having said that, I still think Williams will be a good selection if Davis and Bulaga are both gone and that he could slide over to LT down the line if Staley got hurt.

Agreed. It will be interesting how these OTs fall in the first after the Combine. I just hope we will at least get Trent Williams if the others get taken quickly. If not, we just may get Iupati as ROT/OG prospect since all our tackles would be gone.

The big question mark IMO is Bruce Campbell. Will he bump Bulaga, Williams and Iupati?

Still, I know we will land a ROT in the first...it which one that's puzzling...

Originally posted by ninertico:

Agreed. It will be interesting how these OTs fall in the first after the Combine. I just hope we will at least get Trent Williams if the others get taken quickly. If not, we just may get Iupati as ROT/OG prospect since all our tackles would be gone.

The big question mark IMO is Bruce Campbell. Will he bump Bulaga, Williams and Iupati?

Still, I know we will land a ROT in the first...it which one that's puzzling...

i wouldnt care about campbell...if he runs a good 40s, he is as good as drafted by the raiders in the first ;)
I want an ot who can play at left tackle, too. if the question marks about williams' ability of playing at LT dont disappear before the draft, i dont want to see the niners drafting him.

I think Williams compares favorably to the Saints Jammal Brown (also a Sooner) in size/ability. People also had concerns about Brown's ability to play LT and projected him as either a RT-only prospect or maybe even a guard. After playing RT his rookie season (was the 13th pick overall in 2005), Brown made the transition to LT and has made 2 pro bowls since.

Of course, it's way to early to tell if Williams projects along that same path, but I see a lot of similarities and wouldn't be surprised to see Williams eventually playing LT at a high level in the NFL.

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
He will start on the right side and be very good there. No one can say for certain that he 100% cannot play the left side. He might be able to slide over there when there is a need but the right side will be his spot.

and again I ask, why would a team that needs a OT, draft someone in the 1st round who can't EVER play LOT.

Interestingly enough, I happen to think Williams might project better to LT than Joe Staley does (who did a nice job his rookie year at RT, but since then, hasn't exactly been a stud at LT).

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Interestingly enough, I happen to think Williams might project better to LT than Joe Staley does (who did a nice job his rookie year at RT, but since then, hasn't exactly been a stud at LT).

Then why would you draft someone in the 1st half of the 1st round that is probably a ROT (and I'm not sold that he will be that good at that) when:

A) You already have someone who could play ROT

B) You have an opportunity to draft someone who CAN play LOT.

As for RT, we may actually have one between Pashos (who they would need to resign I think) or possibly Boone. In any event there are some quality RTs who could be obtained in later than 1st round.

Originally posted by nvninerfan1:

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
He will start on the right side and be very good there. No one can say for certain that he 100% cannot play the left side. He might be able to slide over there when there is a need but the right side will be his spot.

and again I ask, why would a team that needs a OT, draft someone in the 1st round who can't EVER play LOT.

Who said he cant EVER play LOT? Are you saying that the only offensive lineman ever worth drafting in round 1 would be those that can play left offensive tackle? I think its pretty important to have a stud on the right side as well. I firmly believe that Williams could slide over to play the Left side if needed but that he would be excellent on the right side. I am not saying that he is my first choice but wouldnt be unhappy with taking him at all.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
I think Williams compares favorably to the Saints Jammal Brown (also a Sooner) in size/ability. People also had concerns about Brown's ability to play LT and projected him as either a RT-only prospect or maybe even a guard. After playing RT his rookie season (was the 13th pick overall in 2005), Brown made the transition to LT and has made 2 pro bowls since.

Of course, it's way to early to tell if Williams projects along that same path, but I see a lot of similarities and wouldn't be surprised to see Williams eventually playing LT at a high level in the NFL.

Spot on. I think Williams can make the transition to LT but he won't be able to start there right away. He'll have to start at RT before attempting that. I actually think that this is a pick that McC will take as it seems he likes linemen who can move around (Heitmann was a guard originally, so was Snyder, Baas played Center in college).

Originally posted by nvninerfan1:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Interestingly enough, I happen to think Williams might project better to LT than Joe Staley does (who did a nice job his rookie year at RT, but since then, hasn't exactly been a stud at LT).

Then why would you draft someone in the 1st half of the 1st round that is probably a ROT (and I'm not sold that he will be that good at that) when:

A) You already have someone who could play ROT

B) You have an opportunity to draft someone who CAN play LOT.

We clearly have two very different opinions of Williams. I never said Williams was just a RTO so you're asking that question to the wrong guy. Not to mention, you have nothing to validate your opinion that Williams may not even be good at RT...he played at an all-american level as a junior at RT before switching to LT this year. Question his LT abilities all you want (and that's valid), but you're grasping at straws if you begin questioning his ability to play RT at a high level.

Finally, even though I believe Staley is a better RT than he is a LT, 49ers brass don't see it that way so in essence, Staley is not in the picture as a RT. Thus, we still need a RT.

Btw, who is this other person that you project to "play a LOT?" Just curious as to context/comparison.

Since I would guess that Russell Okung will be gone, I would say Bulaga or Davis.

Sorry, I'm just not sold on Williams at LT or LOT or whatever.