Trent Williams' 97.8 overall Pro Football Focus grade from the 2021 regular season led the NFL. In fact, it was the highest-ever grade awarded by the analytics site. Now, some will criticize the grade, arguing that you can't consider an offensive tackle the best player in the league.
Don't tell that to All-Pro tight end George Kittle, Williams' San Francisco 49ers teammate.
"Trent Williams is the best football player in the NFL," Kittle declared Friday on The Pat McAfee Show (h/t NBC Sports Bay Area). "I don't care. You could talk to me about any other player in the NFL. Trent Williams is the most god-gifted human being I have ever seen. Literally, he's got the lower body of a wide receiver and the upper body of a silverback gorilla. And he could literally kill anybody if he wanted to."
Williams' 86.0 pass-blocking grade was his highest mark since 2016 (91.4). His 97.9 run-blocking grade was the best by a long shot in the NFL. Guard Zack Martin of the Dallas Cowboys earned the next closest run-blocking grade—92.8.
"Watch him play the game," Kittle continued. "One play, he'll fake punch and just drop a guy's head on the ground. And the next play, he'll just shoot through your chest and flat-back you. There's nothing you can do against the guy. Try to pass rush him.
"He played in the NFC Championship Game on a high-ankle sprain and played at a high level. The only way to beat Trent Williams is if he's hurt. It's crazy. He's literally the best player in the NFL. Aaron Donald is up there too. I'm a huge Aaron Donald fan. He's amazing, so, Aaron, don't get mad."
Keep your head on a swivel when Trent Williams is in motion 😮 pic.twitter.com/CR7pH6tw9v
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) January 23, 2022
Then you have the viral block above against the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs that features Williams paving the way for the ball-carrier, Elijah Mitchell. It's just one example of Williams' value to the 49ers offense. Kittle shared a fun story about this specific play.
"That's actually awesome because we watched it as an offense—the play that we ran it in practice—because the defense didn't know it was coming," Kittle said. "And the D-end on the side, I can't remember who it was, but I'm pretty sure he just turned and ran at the sideline. Like just ran completely out of the way."
Can you blame him? There probably aren't a lot of NFL players who would volunteer to try to stop Williams from rumbling past them at full speed as if he were a fullback.
To think that the 49ers acquired Williams, an All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowl selection, for only a fifth-round pick in 2020 and a third-rounder in 2021 is wild.