In a recent article for The Player’s Tribune, Broncos linebacker Von Miller makes his list of the "5 Toughest Guys I've Ever Faced," and though Denver has only played Washington once in his career, left tackle Trent Williams made quite an impact on him.
Deemed the toughest offensive tackle Miller has played against, Williams, a four-time Pro Bowler, is a natural choice to make the list.
"The classic Beast," Miller writes. "Trent has all the physical tools. But what separates him is that he's also the most mentally tough guy I've ever seen. He has that swag about him that makes him almost more like a defensive player. He loves talking to you. Usually it's just the defensive guys talking — "I'm on your ass all day, bruh!" But Trent has that defensive mentality on the other side of the ball. Some tackles, they just want to not get beat, but Trent is always in attack mode."
If you watched Williams' "NFL Top 100" video from last year, you'll already know this much to be true. He doesn't back down on the field, one of the reasons he wears the "C" across his uniform, and certainly gives the rest of the offensive line a boost of confidence and attitude.
"He's mean out there and I love it," Packers defensive tackle Mike Daniels said in that feature. "I love guys that are jerks on the field."
"The battle at the line of scrimmage is like a 12-round boxing fight," Miller writes. "He's going to get some punches in, and I'm going to get some punches in. What makes a great offensive lineman is the ability to take a shot on the chin and get right back up and not be rattled. If Trent gets beat, he knows it's part of the game. He doesn't get passive — he's right back on your ass the next play. His mind-set is like, "You beat me? Alright, you got lucky on that play. Let's go." That's the confidence you need to be great over four quarters. He's the toughest guy on the field every single play."
That's some high praise from last year's Super Bowl MVP, and sets the tone for the remaining four people on his list – Tom Brady, Chris Ivory, Rob Gronkowski and Bill Belichick. Good, tough, company.
