When the 49ers added a new wrinkle to their offense by putting offensive tackle Trent Williams in motion, coach Kyle Shanahan believed he had stumbled upon something that would instill fear into opposing defenses.
“He’s probably the best guy you could imagine ever doing it. I can’t believe it’s legal. It’s scary even for me to even watch,” Shanahan said of Williams in motion. “I thought it was one of the cooler plays I’ve seen, just because of who was on it.”
Shanahan said there’s nothing unique about the play itself, it’s just that it’s highly unusual to have the 6-foot-5, 320-pound Williams in motion. Shanahan said the motion was something the 49ers previously had fullback Kyle Juszcyk run, then they decided to try other players in that position and finally gave Williams a chance to do it after he had mentioned he’d love an opportunity to line up in the offensive backfield.
“We just look at it as the same play we’ve been doing for 10 years, and just, what’s one more thing we can add to it,” Shanahan said. “It used to only be Juice, then we added the tight ends, then we added running backs, then we added receivers. Trent mentioned it to me a long time ago, kind of halfway joking.”
There’s no joking about it now, it’s a formation that has become a staple of the 49ers’ offense.