- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,245,826
- Reaction score
- 59
The San Francisco 49ers have two representatives on Fox Sports' 2020s NFL Half-Decade Team, with left tackle Trent Williams and inside linebacker Fred Warner earning spots on the star-studded roster of top players.
Both Williams and Warner have been with San Francisco for the entirety of the six years being measured — Williams via a 2020 trade from the Washington Commanders, and Warner as a homegrown product of the 49ers' 2018 draft class.
Williams has arguably been the best left tackle in the NFL since arriving in the Bay Area, earning three first-team All-Pro nods from 2021-23 and a second-team selection last season. His run atop the position has been remarkably sustained, spanning nearly the entire half-decade as well as seven Pro Bowls before 2020.
Warner, meanwhile, leads all inside linebackers with four first-team All-Pro selections since the start of 2020, edging out Baltimore's Roquan Smith, who has three. Before missing 11 games last season due to an ankle injury in 2025, Warner made four All-Pro teams in the previous five seasons, recording at least 125 tackles in each of those years and totaling 38 pass breakups over that stretch.
One notable absence from San Francisco's group was running back Christian McCaffrey. It's a jarring omission given his peak dominance and Offensive Player of the Year-caliber seasons with the 49ers, but Derrick Henry, the lone running back selected, has been far more durable than McCaffrey over the same window. Henry has rushed for at least 1,100 yards in five of six seasons, missing that mark only in 2021 when he played through injury and still topped 900 yards. McCaffrey, by contrast, has dealt with significant injury trouble at multiple points in his 49ers tenure.
Even so, Williams and Warner's inclusion says something about San Francisco's roster-building philosophy over the past half-decade: rather than chasing star power via trade or free agency at every turn, the 49ers built two of the era's most dominant players at their positions through a mix of aggressive trade-and-develop patience and shrewd drafting — and both are still playing at an All-Pro level today.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers players anchor Fox Sports' 'half-decade' team
Continue reading...
Both Williams and Warner have been with San Francisco for the entirety of the six years being measured — Williams via a 2020 trade from the Washington Commanders, and Warner as a homegrown product of the 49ers' 2018 draft class.
Williams has arguably been the best left tackle in the NFL since arriving in the Bay Area, earning three first-team All-Pro nods from 2021-23 and a second-team selection last season. His run atop the position has been remarkably sustained, spanning nearly the entire half-decade as well as seven Pro Bowls before 2020.
Warner, meanwhile, leads all inside linebackers with four first-team All-Pro selections since the start of 2020, edging out Baltimore's Roquan Smith, who has three. Before missing 11 games last season due to an ankle injury in 2025, Warner made four All-Pro teams in the previous five seasons, recording at least 125 tackles in each of those years and totaling 38 pass breakups over that stretch.
One notable absence from San Francisco's group was running back Christian McCaffrey. It's a jarring omission given his peak dominance and Offensive Player of the Year-caliber seasons with the 49ers, but Derrick Henry, the lone running back selected, has been far more durable than McCaffrey over the same window. Henry has rushed for at least 1,100 yards in five of six seasons, missing that mark only in 2021 when he played through injury and still topped 900 yards. McCaffrey, by contrast, has dealt with significant injury trouble at multiple points in his 49ers tenure.
Even so, Williams and Warner's inclusion says something about San Francisco's roster-building philosophy over the past half-decade: rather than chasing star power via trade or free agency at every turn, the 49ers built two of the era's most dominant players at their positions through a mix of aggressive trade-and-develop patience and shrewd drafting — and both are still playing at an All-Pro level today.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers players anchor Fox Sports' 'half-decade' team
Continue reading...
