49ers' Trent Williams Gets a Prime Spot in ESPN's Latest OT Ranking

This was well deserved for Trent Williams.

September 21, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams (71) during the fourth quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

One of the best moves the San Francisco 49ers made this offseason was extending Trent Williams before training camp.

Not only does it help them avoid a distraction in camp, but they locked down the anchor of their offense. And yes, he is on the back end of his career, but Williams is still an absolute unit.

It's tough to deny that. In fact, it's a consensus among NFL executives, coaches, and scouts. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler has been surveying these figures to rank the top 10 players at every position.

When they ranked the offensive tackles, they gave Williams a prime spot. He was ranked as the No. 2 tackle in the NFL, which is fitting for him.

"At this stage, it takes him a while to get going early in the season, but he's still producing at a high level," an NFL coordinator said to Fowler.

Williams gets his flowers

October 19, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams (71) during the first quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's wonderful to see that Williams is getting his flowers. He deserves his ranking, even though last year was a bit of a decline for him.

But that just shows how immense his talent is. He had a bit of a drop off last season, yet he still is being regarded as the second-best offensive tackle in the league.

To some extent, I am surprised Williams made it so high. I would've assumed the NFL figures surveyed for this would've dropped him a few more spots due to where he's at in his career.

They tend to phase out older, declining players, and it seems some scouts went that route with Fowler when surveying opinions for this ranking.

"Multiple scouts insist he's no longer the best due to age," Fowler wrote. "But one NFC defensive coach disagrees. 'I don't see a lot of drop-off -- he still operates without the need for any help in pass protection, he still mauls people, he's still got light feet for his size, still has the capacity to dominate.'"

Williams will have a chance to prove just how great he still is in 2026 now that he has to face Myles Garrett twice in the same season. It's going to be brutal.

But if any offensive tackle can slow down Garrett, it's Williams. He did a decent job of it last year, so, barring his skills jumping off a cliff, he should replicate that performance.

Williams has two more years left on his contract. By the time it expires, he expects to call it a career. If he stays true to his word, he'll go down as one of the trades the 49ers ever made.

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