Ex-49ers GM Says Joe Staley ‘Really Good,’ But ‘He Ain’t Trent Williams’

GETTY Now-San Francisco 49ers tackle Trent Williams got high praise by his former general manager.

The prospect of moving on from a 13-year, six-time Pro Bowl tackle like San Francisco 49ers legend Joe Staley to a seven-time Pro Bowler with years left to compete like Trent Williams doesn’t come around often.

But 49ers general manager John Lynch found himself in prime position to deal with the Washington Redskins, obtaining Williams for immense value in the form of a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Ex-49ers and Redskins GM Scot McCloughlan has one of the most unique perspectives on the situation, as he was the vice president of personnel for San Francisco when the team drafted Staley in 2007 before becoming the team’s GM in 2008. He also was the GM for the Redskins from 2015-2016 and worked with Williams.

McCloughlan recently sat down with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch, complimenting both Staley and Williams, but pointing out that Williams is a different level of player.

“Joe Staley is a really good tackle — don’t get me wrong,” McCloughan said. “But he ain’t Trent Williams. He hasn’t been Trent Williams. And won’t be Trent Williams when Trent’s career is over and you compare them.”

After being drafted out of Oklahoma as the fourth overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, Williams made seven-consecutive Pro Bowls from 2012 to 2018.

In 2019, Williams sat out the season due to issues with the Redskins organization over the handling of a cancerous growth on his head.

McLoughlan Speaks Further on Williams

With Williams having one year left on his current contract, there’s always the possibility that the 49ers only utilize him for a single season, but Branch says McLoughlan still called the trade for the soon-to-be 32-year-old a “home run” due to Williams’ ability to replicate Staley’s effectiveness in the running game.

“Staley fit that offense to a T,” McCloughan said. “But they’re different players. Trent is so talented that he can play in any system. You want to play power football? He’s going to play power football, and he’s going to wear your ass down. You want to play finesse football and dance out in space? He’ll do that with you all day. That’s why he’s so unique. These guys … they don’t come around very often.”

The 49ers led the NFL in rushing touchdowns in 2019 with 23 and were second to the Baltimore Ravens in total rushing yards with 2305 yards through the likes of Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert, and Tevin Coleman.

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers were one of two teams who ran the ball more than they threw it in 2019, choosing the ground 51.39 percent of the time last year.

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Ex-Redskins HC Mike Shanahan Adds Context

Three-time Super Bowl winner Mike Shanahan also talked with Branch about Williams as the former 49ers offensive coordinator and son Kyle Shanahan were with the Redskins in Mike’s first year in charge when the team drafted the Oklahoma tackle in 2010.

It was Williams’ performance in a zone-blocking scheme, which the 49ers use Kyle Shanahan, that separated him as the Redskins ideal tackle, which translated to a monstrous career in retrospect.

“Both Trent and Russell Okung were projected in the top five — everybody had different numbers on them — but they were two excellent athletes,” Shanahan said. “But I thought Trent was just perfect for our zone scheme.

“There aren’t too many guys that are that size that run like that. That was pretty impressive. And I knew (Oklahoma coach) Bob Stoops at the time pretty well, and he said he’d never had an offensive lineman or defensive lineman that had that type of athletic ability. So that got us studying Trent really hard.”

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Evan Reier is a sportswriter covering the San Francisco 49ers for Heavy.com and local sports for the Montana Standard in Butte, MT. Follow and reach out to him on Twitter at @evanreier.