In a society with a rampant problem of fatphobia, where you cannot go to the doctor without trying to put you on a diet, and where political correctness refers to overweight people as having “non-conforming bodies,” it is difficult to describe to Trent Williams, the left tackle of the San Francisco 49ers, a hulk of 1.96 tall and 145 kilos (on days when the scale is timid). Because he moves with the agility and speed of a gazelle, and he dances like he's Fred Astaire.
His position is one of the most technical and least showy in American football, a kind of bodyguard in charge of protecting the quarterback and creating holes through which the running back can run, avoiding the pressure of the opposing team's linebackers and defensive backs. There are few who dare to measure its price on the free market. The exception is Williams, who put himself up for auction and got a six-year contract with the 49ers (he has three left to complete) for 130 million euros.
Fourth pick in the 2012 draft, his first NFL team was Washington (then Redskins). Exchanging the nation's capital for San Francisco was like leaving purgatory to enter heaven through the front door, with San Pedro bowing, although the last Super Bowl victory of his current team (he has five in his cabinets) was It dates back to 1995. This year he is one of the big favorites, if the injuries allow him.
The headlines for the 49ers' victories go to Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle or Kyle Juszcyk, but Williams is as important as any of them, even if in relative obscurity. When he was injured in October, San Francisco, which was unbeaten, lost the three games in which he was absent, against Minnesota, Cleveland and Cincinnati, not passing 17 points in any of them.
To a prodigious physique and exceptional technique, Trent, at 35 years old, adds an optimism that he infects his teammates with and an enormous leadership capacity. He is always sure that he will win, and he makes the locker room believe it even in the most adverse circumstances. He has a chronic ankle injury, and has been treated for a (not serious) tumor in the brain, but he still has some energy left. He sees himself playing well into his 40s, making up for the loss of quickness and reflexes with experience.
The 49ers invested in him to fill the crucial left tackle position, which covers the blind spot for right-handed quarterbacks, when the legendary Joe Staley retired. In the shadow of the Golden Gate he has become a reference for the offensive line, like Ronnie Stanley of the Baltimore Ravens and David Bakhtiari of the Green Bay Packers, who earn almost as much money, but slightly less than him.
One of the most spectacular defensive plays in American football is the sack, when the quarterback is tackled or stopped before he can pass the ball and loses yards. There are great specialists, like Roquan Smith, Demario Davis, Bobby Wagner, Matt Milano, Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons, C.J. Mosley, T.J Watt, Maxx Crosby, Trey Hendrickson, Josh Allen... They are the terror of quarterbacks and they wreak havoc, except when they run into the 194 centimeters and 145 kilos of Trent Williams, the gold standard in his position, the one in charge of blocking so that a play perfectly drawn on the board has a chance of working. That's how lucky Brock Prody and the 49ers are. Nobody goes over him. And if he has to dance a waltz or a tango, he knows how to do it too.
