Trent Williams joins 49ers teammate Christian McCaffrey in receiving historic Madden rating

Trent Williams play at left tackle was absolutely crucial to the success Christian McCaffrey enjoyed last season in winning Offensive Player of the Year.

So it's only fitting that Williams joined his San Francisco 49ers teammate in a prestigious club on Wednesday.

A day after McCaffrey was confirmed as becoming the first 49ers running back to receive a 99 rating in the Madden NFL 25 video game, for which he is the cover star, Williams was announced to have also become a member of this year's '99 club'.

Williams is the only offensive lineman in 49ers history to receive such a rating, having now done so twice in the space of three years.

It follows another first-team All-Pro campaign from Williams, who is engaged in a holdout from 49ers training camp in a bid to have guaranteed money added to the final three years of his contract.

Williams was credited with allowing just 18 pressures during the regular season and did not give up a single sack, per Pro Football Focus. He had the second-highest overall grade among tackles and was tied second in run blocking grade.

An utterly dominant athlete in space at 320 pounds, Williams efforts in the latter area helped propel McCaffrey to the rushing title with 1,459 yards, the 49ers running back also leading the league in yards from scrimmage with 2,023 yards.

The 49ers finished the 2023 season tied for the league lead with 74 runs of 10 yards or more. They were second in first down rate on the ground (29.5%), tied for first in rushing touchdowns (27) and third in yards per game (140.5).

Per FTN Fantasy, a massive 704 of McCaffrey's rushing yards came on runs to the left. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry on rushes in that direction and 0.25 Expected Points Added per attempt. In other words, the 49ers gained a quarter of a point on average when McCaffrey ran to Williams' side.

Offensive line play can be tough to analyze, but there's no doubt Williams is the best in the business and clearly deserving of a second year in the 99 club.

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