Is figuring out life after Trent Williams important? Yes. The top priority of 2026? That\u2019s questionable.<\/p>\n
Over the last few weeks, I\u2019ve gone over some mock drafts and gone from banging the table for the San Francisco 49ers to figure out this left tackle thing to saying there really isn\u2019t much they can do.<\/p>\n
By \u201cleft tackle thing,\u201d I\u2019m referring to the 49ers and Trent Williams, who remain in a standstill getting a contract extension worked out. Yes, Williams has a ton of leverage, and yes, the 49ers should have had something waiting in case of this very scenario. Then again, for a left tackle, you don\u2019t really just have someone waiting on the sidelines for a year or two to play. It\u2019s usually a free agent or they believe the current left tackle is on the way out and they have someone to plug in (which is not unlike the one-two punch of the 49ers trading for Williams and then-left tackle Joe Staley retiring the same day). It\u2019s not like quarterbacks, where you draft a backup and say they\u2019ll start when they are ready.<\/p>\n
Regardless of how they go about it, the 49ers need to start planning for a future without Trent Williams. Is that really the primary objective in 2026? NFL.com\u2019s Gennaro Filice thinks so<\/a>:<\/p>\n At publishing, the 49ers remain in a contract standoff with Trent Williams. Three months from now, the 12-time Pro Bowler turns 38 years old. You see where I\u2019m going here: San Francisco needs to find the heir apparent at left tackle. The Niners gave Brock Purdy a $265 million extension last offseason. Now it\u2019s time to shore up the franchise QB\u2019s blind side for the foreseeable future. At No. 27 overall, San Francisco\u2019s first-round pick sits in the range where a developmental tackle like Caleb Lomu or Max Iheanachor could be available. The Niners continue to exude confidence that they\u2019ll eventually find common ground with Williams, so draft the project, have him learn from an all-time great and set up a nice transition at a critical position.<\/p>\n I\u2019d actually agree\u2014to some extent. While they don\u2019t need to make a de facto \u201cnext Trent Williams\u201d designation on a rookie, they do need to have something\u2014anything. A plan is what is needed, not so much a successor but a plan of when this ends and what the answer will be.<\/p>\n NBC Sports Bay Area\u2019s Matt Maiocco did a deep dive on the successor question<\/a> over at his YouTube channel a couple of weeks ago, and I encourage everyone to give it a listen. The gist of it is that the majority of left tackles drafted were made starters almost overnight.<\/p>\n What this means is the 49ers don\u2019t necessarily need to make sure Williams\u2019 successor is on the roster in 2026, but it does mean that the scouting department needs to work overtime so that when the 49ers and Williams officially call it quits, they have a couple of players they can grab in a future draft. Or, the 49ers know who will hit the trade block and get a trade going. A long-term succession plan isn\u2019t a goal here.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve seen a couple of left tackles going to the 49ers in mock drafts. Whether they are good fits for the offense is up to you. One option is to draft a tackle to play on the right side his rookie season and then hand the keys over the next year. The problem with this is that Colton McKivitz has a cap number of $5,823,555<\/a> in 2026. Cutting him pre-June 1 would cost the 49ers an additional $12.4 million against the cap \u2014 dead money of $18.3 million on a player who may not even be starting. A post-June 1 cut is essentially cap neutral, with roughly $6 million in dead money and next to nothing in cap savings. Either way, the 49ers aren\u2019t getting out clean. It would make the McKivitz extension earlier this year a total head-scratcher.<\/p>\n Is a timeline or plan for Trent Williams needed? Absolutely. Is a succession plan dotted in 2026 priority numero uno? No. The priority for the 49ers should be the defensive line and an end opposite Nick Bosa. The pass rush has been disappointing for far, far too long. Sure, the 49ers\u2019 offensive line has had issues as well, but Nick Bosa isn\u2019t getting any younger. With the addition of Osa Odighizuwa at defensive tackle and a healthy Mykel Williams (here\u2019s hoping),<\/a> the 49ers are getting closer to making strides in getting attention taken off Bosa. An edge rusher opposite him could be a piece that speeds everything up (and helps the secondary since the quarterback will have less time to find someone open).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is figuring out life after Trent Williams important? Yes. The top priority of 2026? That\u2019s questionable. 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