SANTA CLARA – It was hard to tell if Jimmy Garoppolo was looking for Nick Bosa or if it was the other way around.
Obviously, it was impossible to relate the topic of their brief exchange, which took place around 15 minutes after the 49ers’ first padded practice at training camp.
But it would have been entirely understandable – or even expected – if Bosa had anything encouraging to tell Garoppolo about feeling safe with seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams protecting his side. blinded.
Williams and Bosa clashed over almost every first-team training snapshot against the 49ers first-team in the 49ers’ padded first practice on Monday. This match represents a must-see daily competition featuring two of the best in the game.
“Watching these two go together is pretty cool,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said on Monday. “They had two one-on-one (Sunday) rehearsals and split them up. It’s fun to see them adapt to each other.
“Trent hasn’t played for a while, but he doesn’t look like it. His skills are still there. Everything is still there. We just have to get him into football shape, with pretty much everyone on our squad right now.
Williams was the clear winner of the head-to-head on Monday.
Once he got his hands on Bosa, Williams made sure he wasn’t going anywhere. Williams locked Bosa in pass protection to give Garoppolo enough time to deliver a deep finish to Kendrick Bourne towards the end of practice. In nine head-to-head knockdown situations, Williams did not allow quarterback pressure.
Considering that the 49ers already know that Bosa is one of the best in the league in his role, it has to be taken as good news that Williams won the day so early in his return to the game.
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In addition to his size, strength and athleticism, Williams is also known to be a technician in this position. And Bosa, the NFL Rookie of the Year last season, is much more advanced than almost any other young player because of his lineage. This makes them the perfect partner to help each other out.
“Nick has figured out the technique – I’m still joking – since he came out of the womb because he had to rush the ferryman,” Shanahan said.
Bosa owes much of his rookie success to training camp competitions and post-training talks with 49ers All-Decade left tackle Joe Staley.
So when Staley retired and the 49ers simultaneously acquired Williams in a Washington trade, it gave Bosa another opportunity to elevate his game with work against a teammate.
Bosa and Williams have been looking forward to meeting each other at training camp for a long time. And it turned out that the two had their first real exposure to each other in activities that will be closest to each other for a real playing experience before the start of the regular season.
Williams recently said he expects his daily job against Bosa to prepare him for the season after being out for the entire last year.
“It’s going to be an essential tool for me to remove rust,” Williams said earlier this month. “One of the biggest challenges I can face all year is probably Nick. I think he’s one of the top four or five rushers in the game.
“To get this job and be able to do it every day, and we can kind of brainstorm and talk about it, I think it will work out as the best case for me, and I hope he takes advantage of it. certainly as much as me. “
Bosa admitted to watching Williams’ film after the 49ers acquired it. Bosa said he wanted to gain an understanding of Williams so that he would be embarrassed on the training ground.
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“Attacking tackles usually don’t get the most publicity, but Trent is one of those who do,” Bosa said. “He’s always been in the top 100, always known to be one of the best athletes in the game. It’s fun to watch when you see a tackle running around the field and moving like a linebacker. awesome just in person.
“I certainly didn’t idolize tackles and watch their movie like that, but Trent has always been known as the best tackle since I’ve been a fan of the game, so watching him play was pretty cool.”
