San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch joined KNBR on Friday morning. He shared his perspective on one of the most intriguing battles in training camp — defensive end Nick Bosa going against offensive tackle Trent Williams.
The matchup has lived up to the hype leading to practices. While there are other battles to watch, this particular one is difficult to skip.
"It should be like pay-per-view every day, I'm telling you," Lynch said on the Murph & Mac show. "I try to watch the entire team, but I can't help but gravitate -- there's a period of practice that's just old school. We call it one-on-one. So receivers will be working against corners. Tight ends and running backs against the linebackers and safeties. ... But my eyes, and everyone else's eyes in the building, just go to the O-line/D-line because of that matchup.
"And the coolest thing is they don't take a rep against anyone else because I think they each understand the value. It's the old 'iron sharpens iron,' when you're going against somebody who's at the top of the profession, when you get two of those guys going at it, and just trying to poke holes in each other's game.
"And I think a lot has been made in the media about how Trent Williams has just been dominating Bosa. I don't think that's a fair characterization. Bosa's been getting his fair share of wins too. I think yesterday, Trent Williams got the better of him, but they just go back and forth."
Both players have a great deal of respect for one another, and for months had shared how they were looking forward to the training camp battle. Williams' reputation preceded him, and Bosa looked forward to going against one of the best tackles in the game.
On the other side, Williams loved what he saw from Bosa during his rookie season, and already considers him one of the biggest challenges in the game.
"But to see the respect they have for each other, after a rep, where it looks like they're killing each other," Lynch added, "and one of them ends up on the ground, they'll help each other up, and then they'll kind of go back and start talking to each other and comparing notes.
"It's an awesome sight each day, and they're both spectacular athletes and football players. It's been a really fun matchup to watch, and they'll both be better for it."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
