Pro Football Focus ranked the top 25 offensive tackles in the NFL. For the San Francisco 49ers, the starters anchoring the offensive line are veteran Trent Williams, who replaces the retired Joe Staley after a trade from Washington, and third-year player and a former No. 9 overall draft pick, Mike McGlinchey.
Only one of those two ended up on the ranking — Williams, who came in at No. 8.
"In the wake of Joe Staley's retirement, the 49ers swooped in and replaced him with another top-10 tackle in Williams," wrote Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus. "He didn't play a snap for Washington last year, but he was the model of excellence as a pass-blocker in the eight years prior. In each of those years, Williams never ranked lower than 13th among tackles in pass-block grade and had multiple seasons in the top three. Sure, there might be some concern with Williams considering he last played in 2018, which was his lowest-graded season since his rookie campaign (still ranked 20th at the position). But despite that, he's still a top-10 tackle."
Williams, 32, reunites with Kyle Shanahan, who served as Washington's offensive coordinator when the O-lineman was drafted No. 4 overall in 2010.
Williams sounded excited to leave Washington and join Shanahan's team, but not just because it meant a reunion with a coach whom he held in high esteem.
"I say this all the time: It was an attractive destination, not just because of Kyle and the quarterback (Jimmy Garoppolo), of course, but they don't need me to win," Williams explained in June. "I think that's pretty evident. They went to the biggest game that our league has last year without me on the roster.
"So, to me, it gives me the chance to come in and not feel like the world is on my shoulders, and I have to do everything. I'm just a small piece of the puzzle to a well-tuned machine. I look forward to that part."