49ers offseason roster update: Offensive line
There may not be a bigger question mark on the 49ers’ roster than their offensive line.
Outside of left tackle Trent Williams, the entire line has at least a small question mark at each position. Left guard Laken Tomlinson exited in free agency, leaving the left guard spot vacant. Their depth is also an unknown with multiple young players getting new opportunities to grow into bigger roles now that they have two position battles to figure out at left and right guard.
It’s arguable that San Francisco should find the best interior offensive lineman they can in the draft and then try to plug him into one of the guard spots. On the other hand, they’ve invested a lot of picks on their offensive line over the last couple years and they may give those players a chance to step up among tons of competition.
Let’s take a look at what the 49ers are working with on the offensive line going into the draft:
Trent Williams
(AP Photo/Scot Tucker)
Williams can be penciled in as the 49ers’ starting left tackle for the next few years. He turns 34 in July but he’s still playing like the best LT in the NFL and might’ve had his best season as a pro in 2021.
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There’s still a question mark over whether Mack will play in 2022. He’s 36 and turns 37 in November. General manager John Lynch said he expects Mack to return, which would solidify at least the middle of San Francisco’s offensive line going into the season. They’ll still need a long-term option behind him even if he does return since 2022 could be his final year.
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The 49ers have leaned a lot on Brunskill at guard after signing him as a tackle in 2019. He’s played okay on the interior, but in an ideal scenario he’d probably be a Swiss Army knife reserve who could fill in at all five OL spots. Going into the draft he’s the frontrunner for the starting right guard job, but there’ll be plenty of competition in camp.
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McGlinchey is coming off a torn quad that cost him nine games in 2021. He’s entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract so there are a ton of questions surrounding him going into the season. There’s the concern about how he’ll look coming off the injury, and then whether he’ll play well enough to warrant a second contract with the team that took him in the first round of the 2018 draft. McGlinchey at his best is one of the best run blocking tackles in the league. If he’s average in pass protection he’ll shore up the right side of the 49ers’ line while likely also earning a long-term deal.
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Banks was the 49ers’ second-round pick in 2021. He didn’t get off to a great start though and only played in three offensive snaps all season. It’ll be an early make-or-break year for him with two guard spots open on the depth chart. He’ll get every chance to earn the starting job at left guard. If he can’t win the spot, it’s tough to see where he fits in long term.
Jaylon Moore
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There may not be a more interesting offensive lineman on the 49ers’ roster. Moore was a fifth-round selection last year who started for four years at left tackle in college. He’s a bit undersized and San Francisco planned to move him inside. He wound up needing to play left tackle in camp though and never got a chance to develop at either guard spot. Now he’ll get a real shot to compete for a starting guard job where he has a great shot to land one of the two, unless San Francisco’s plan to kick him inside has changed.
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Put McKivitz in the same category as Moore – a college tackle the 49ers envisioned playing guard in the pros. He was a 2020 fifth-round pick who got some opportunities to play inside as a rookie. He didn’t make the initial roster in 2021, but wound up working his way back onto the roster from the practice squad and saw action as the swing tackle. That may be the new projection for him, and the ability to play multiple spots could be the thing that keeps him on the roster if he doesn’t win a starting job.
Jake Brendel
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Brendel is the top option at center behind Mack, and the team’s confidence in him could shape how they attack this year’s draft. If they believe there’s a real chance Brendel can be the answer post-Mack, they won’t need to reach for a C this year. He’ll get opportunities in camp and the preseason, but those opportunities will dwindle if San Francisco snags a center with one of their first couple picks.
Alfredo Gutierrez
(AP Photo/Scot Tucker)
Gutierrez landed with the 49ers as part of the NFL’s international pathway program. He was on the practice squad last year, but wasn’t eligible to make the active roster and didn’t count against the practice squad roster limit. This year he’s susceptible to normal rules. At 6-9, 332 pounds he has NFL size, and even just showing flashes in the offseason could be enough to land him another practice squad spot in 2022.
Keaton Sutherland
(AP Photo/Nick Cammett)
The 49ers added Sutherland this offseason. He’s been in the NFL since 2019 and has six games under his belt with two starts. Sutherland will get a chance to mix in at guard as the 49ers work on filling those two starting jobs.
Justin Skule
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A torn ACL during the offseason program ended Skule’s third season early. The 2019 sixth-round pick had a little success as a swing tackle his rookie year, but struggled in 2020. This isn’t a very deep offensive front so he’ll get an opportunity to compete for at least the swing tackle job. The 49ers may also try him inside – something they also did in 2020.
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