There are those who feel the decision on the San Francisco 49ers' part to give left tackle Trent Williams the most expensive contract to an offensive lineman in league history might turn out to be a mistake, but fullback Kyle Juszczyk clearly isn't among them.
Williams agreed overnight to return to the 49ers on a six-year deal worth $138.06 million, fewer than 48 hours after Juszczyk re-signed at five years/$27 million. Like many, Juszczyk woke up Wednesday morning to find out the 49ers had come to terms with Williams (and were also close to doing so with former Falcons center Alex Mack), and as he revealed to reporters during a media session Wednesday afternoon, Juszczyk couldn't have been more excited with what he saw.
"I woke up this morning feeling like Christmas, man," Juszczyk said.
Why the excitement? In Juszczyk's eyes, it's because Williams is a true difference-maker and the type of player teams need in order to win a Super Bowl. For that reason, Juszczyk feels the 49ers were justified in giving Williams such a hefty contract.
"Trent's a game-changer, man," Juszczyk told reporters Wednesday. "He's somebody that teams have to scheme around. They have to change what they're doing because he's out there. He's a guy that we can just completely count on and know he's going to get his job done and then some. There's no amount of money -- you can't pay too much for a guy like that. Those are guys that really make a difference and put you over the top and put you into that championship-caliber and not just a good team, but a great team."
With Williams and Juszczyk back in the fold and Mack coming aboard to join what's already in place, the 49ers will have the potential on offense to dish out some punishment blocking-wise on opposing defenses this season. Fans can look forward to seeing more highlight plays from Williams similar to the destructive block he dished out last season on Cardinals linebacker Jordan Hicks (a play Juszczyk singled out as a personal favorite). But for Juszczyk, one of the most impressive things about Williams is what he does to opposing defenders on a regular basis that doesn't wind up making the highlight reel.
"Honestly, It's not just these highlight plays," Juszczyk said. "It's on regular plays when you see his ability to move another man. I would say most people when you're blocking somebody, it's pretty much a stalemate, or maybe you're moving them back a foot or two. This guy's actually moving defensive linemen into the laps of linebackers, back into the secondary. That's just something that doesn't really happen in the NFL.
"You see crazy highlights of that of high school kids or college players, but we're all professionals. For him to be able to just manhandle people like that, it's just something so special and something you're not going to see anywhere else."