Iron sharpens iron.

While Trent Williams named Nick Bosa and a formidable defensive line as one of his many reasons for wanting to join the San Francisco 49ers, Bosa is looking forward to facing the team's new offensive tackle.


That hasn't happened yet.

NFL players can't work together in an official capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They can't even enter team facilities. Some have tried to take part in player-organized workouts. The NFLPA recently advised against that practice with the virus popping up among several teams, including one unidentified player with the 49ers.

Next month may be different, though. That's when NFL teams plan to kick off training camps across the league. At least, that's what they're hoping. We'll have to wait to see if that comes to fruition.

Should training camps take place, Bosa is eager to face Williams for the first time. The young pass rusher and reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year was asked last week to share his impression of Williams, who replaces his former practice sparing partner, the recently-retired Joe Staley.

Bosa's response was part of this week's State of the Franchise event.


"My impressions are, the tape I've watched of him, it's pretty impressive," Bosa told team reporter Keiana Martin and radio voice Greg Papa. "So I'm just excited we have a player like that on our team. I'm excited that he's familiar with Kyle's (Shanahan) offense.

"So just a great replacement for Joe. I'm going to have a really good challenge all of training camp. It will be interesting."

Shortly after the April trade that sent Williams from Washington to the Bay Area, Bosa started studying film of the veteran tackle. That way, he's "not caught off guard when camp rolls around."

"He's a really good athlete," Bosa said on Williams in May. "I think the biggest thing that stands out is his athleticism and his feet. He's able to recover. I think I saw a rep where somebody spun on him, and he got beat. But just the way he moves his feet, he has feet like a receiver. He just moves his feet so well, and just stays in front of guys.

"Obviously, he's massive, so it's tough to power him. But yeah, he's definitely one of the best in the league, so it will be fun to practice against him."


Assuming training camp happens as planned, the Bosa-Williams head-to-head matchups could be one of the more intriguing to watch.

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