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San Francisco 49ers OT Trent Williams is widely considered one of the best at his position in the NFL, if not the best right now. However, a recent conspiracy theory has surprisingly blamed him for the Niners’ offensive woes.
Even though offensive guru Kyle Shanahan has no shortage of talent with Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and now Christian McCaffrey at his disposal, the 49ers’ offense has been inconsistent in 2022. Why? The theory suggests it’s because Williams is tipping plays through his stance.
The observation is actually nothing new, but the debate was reignited on Twitter earlier this week. According to Jessie Naylor of Last Second Sports, the Niners’ offensive tackle reveals whether plays are run or pass based on the positioning of his left foot.
Trent Williams is still tipping plays. I just ran through the all 22 and accurately predicted nearly every play run or pass based on his left foot placement pre snap.
Pic 1 is a run
Pic 2 is a pass pic.twitter.com/Zffq7YmqZR
— Jessie🎙 (@JNay_LSS) November 15, 2022
The post quickly gained traction on social media with some of the 49ers Faithful left mindblown that Williams would allow for such a seemingly bad habit. The defense will be better prepared if they know what’s coming, right? Well, not exactly.
The 9-time Pro Bowler has been using the same stances throughout his career and he’s still considered one of the elite offensive linemen in the league. Clearly, his stance hasn’t been an issue.
On Friday, Williams offered reporters an in-depth explanation for why fans shouldn’t have concerns about him tipping plays.
Trent Williams dismisses the idea that he’s tipping plays with his stance pic.twitter.com/NOoYanqzMw
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) November 19, 2022
Trent Williams Says Tipping Plays Isn’t A Big Deal On The Field
It simply comes down to the fact that no one can beat Williams even while he’s tipping the plays. He has yet to give up a sack through the six games he’s played this season.
“Yeah, it’s pretty nonsense… If you just think that football is as simple as knowing if it’s a run or pass, then you kinda dismiss the knowledge you have to have to compete at a high level,” said Williams in response to the concerns.
“Just ’cause you know it’s a run don’t mean you know what type of run. We just installed 50 runs with 6 different looks each run. So I can show you run all day. Do you know which 50 runs we’re running?” he continued.
While Williams acknowledges that defenders could determine whether a play was pass or run, he makes it abundantly clear that the specifics would still be unknown. Plus, most defenders wouldn’t rely on the tell anyways due to the potential for some deception.
“There’s plays where we want it to look like run and we’re passing it. And there’s plays where we want it to look like a pass and we’re running it. So if you’re looking for me to tell you everything, then I can manipulate you. Which is why they don’t look at us that much or as much as you think. It’s never been that big of a deal on this side,” he explained.
Luckily for the 49ers Faithful, there aren’t any concerns surrounding Williams’ stance within the organization. Head coach Kyle Shanahan and other NFL veterans have echoed the same message too.
Williams is a problem for NFL defenses regardless of how he lines up. It’s exactly why he became the first-ever offensive lineman to earn a 99 overall rating on Madden.