San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey recently shared something his teammate, pass rusher Nick Bosa, shared with him this past season. The NFL Defensive Player of the Year praised one of his offensive teammates, explaining how the one player made him a better pass rusher.
"Bosa, everyone knows Bosa, and the year that he's had," McCaffrey said on the Bussin' with the Boys podcast. "We were on the bus one time, and he's like, 'I've got the hardest job in America.'"
McCaffrey was confused. Here was one of the best defensive players in the NFL, the man who often makes things look easy and makes opposing offensive linemen trying to block him look silly. Was this talented pass rusher trying to tell the running back how tough his job is?
"I'm like, 'What?'" McCaffrey said. "He's like, 'I've got to go against [tackle] Trent [Williams] every day.' The Defensive Player of the Year saying, 'I've got the hardest job in America going against Trent every day.'"
That is a telling statement. A player who racked up a league-leading 18.5 sacks this past season was telling McCaffrey that his biggest challenge is facing Trent Williams in each practice.
The 25-year-old Bosa respects Williams, a 34-year-old who has been in the league since Bosa was 12.
When Bosa arrived with the 49ers, he had to go against another tremendous left tackle in Joe Staley. Then, when Staley retired, San Francisco traded for Williams. So things didn't get any easier for the young pass rusher. Bosa sees that as a positive, though.
"I think when I look back at my career five years from now, I'm going to be like, 'Wow, I really got lucky with that.'" Bosa shared this week with his former teammate, Richard Sherman, on the Richard Sherman Podcast. "Not only lucky that he's not on the other team, but that I get to go against him.
"And Trent is one of my favorite dudes on the team. We get along really well, and he's just so competitive and always looking to get better. I think people wouldn't think that if somebody's 34, however old he is, they probably think he just rolls in there, doesn't train, just does his thing.
"But he's looking … he's looking at me sometimes like, 'What is this young kid doing? I need to make sure I'm ready to roll,' which he always is. But he's always looking for that extra edge.
"And I get down on myself throughout camp and the conversations we have, but when you really look at it like, when you're going against somebody like that, it's worth all the stress that it brings because I want to be the best player on the team too, and it's kind of hard when he's on the team."