49ers should have an easy favorite for NFL's newest award
At the NFL league meetings this week, the league announced a bunch of news and notes, including that the league will not be banning the "Tush Push," the modified quarterback sneak that the Philadelphia Eagles have made famous in recent years.
Among the other announcements from the league meetings was the NFL's executive vice president of football operations, Troy Vincent, sharing that the league will be introducing a new Protector of the Year Award following the 2025 season. According to the league, the winner will be decided by a panel that will include some of the greatest offensive linemen in the history of the game.
This is great news as it will give some recognition to the big men in the trenches who usually only hear their names mentioned when they mess up. With this voted on by some former players, it also may mean more to winners than those who are named All-Pro by the Associated Press.
While there will certainly be quite a few offensive linemen in the running for the league's newest award, San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams should be among the early favorites for the honor.
Williams, 36, has been one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL since Washington took him with the fourth-overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft out of Oklahoma. Since then, he's made 11 Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams (three first-teams and one second-team).
In 2024, Williams was limited to just 10 starts at left tackle due to an ankle injury that kept him out for the final six weeks of the season. Despite missing time, Pro Football Focus still gave him an 85.6 overall grade for his performance, ranking him sixth out of 140 qualified offensive tackles. He also earned an 84.5 pass-blocking grade (ninth) and an 81.4 run-blocking grade.
If Williams is healthy and on the field, he'll be one of the best offensive linemen in football, even as he creeps into his later 30s, and if that's the case, he should be in consideration for the first Protector of the Year Award.
More 49ers: 49ers veteran has eyes on one specific matchup on 2025 schedule
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