The 49ers enter 2019 with some much-needed continuity on the offensive line. Their struggles to rebuild that unit following the 2014 season when they had one of the NFL’s best offensive fronts have played a key role in their inability to win games.
Now they return all five starters from last season with some intriguing newcomers looking to fill out the roster.
Here’s how the 49ers offensive line is shaping up heading into training camp:
The roster
Joe Staley
Staley is probably putting the finishing touches on a Hall of Fame career. He’s still playing at a high level as he enters his mid-30s, and the former first-round pick doesn’t show a ton of signs of slowing down. He’s been a staple on the 49ers’ offensive front for going on 13 years. Staley has missed just 18 games in his career.
Weston Richburg
The 49ers signed Richburg to a handsome contract prior to last season. He struggled for most of the year due to a lower leg injury that he played through. He still played and started 15 games for San Francisco, but the downtick in production made life difficult for the middle of the 49ers’ offensive line.
Mike McGlinchey
The No. 9 overall pick in the 2018 draft was impressive in his rookie season. His pass blocking needs some additional polish, but that should come with experience, reps and added strength. McGlinchey didn’t disappoint as a run blocker though – an essential piece that helps drive the entire 49ers’ offense.
Mike Person
Last season was Person’s first as a full-time starter, and he played well enough to earn another contract with the 49ers. Versatility is key, and Person offers that with the ability to play any interior spot. He wasn’t great last season, but he was certainly good enough to earn another shot in San Francisco.
Laken Tomlinson
Things started to click last year for the former Lions’ first-round pick. The talent is undeniable and it’s showed throughout the last two seasons. Tomlinson still has some growing to do as a more consistent blocker all around, but he’s already showing why the 49ers were willing to unload a fifth-round pick for him.
Joshua Garnett
The former first-round pick has had a tumultuous tenure with the 49ers. He’s entering his fourth season with the club having played in just 22 games with 11 starts. Garnett missed all of 2017 with an injury, then he dealt with another injury last season. He did lose weight to help improve his athleticism to better fit in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. However, it didn’t earn him a starting job last season, and the team declined his fifth-year option for 2020.
Ben Garland
Garland’s had a fascinating career that’s seen him play on both sides of the ball. He’s settled in on the offensive line though and has maintained his versatility to play three spots along the inside. The 49ers snagged Garland in free agency after he spent his first five years with the Broncos and Falcons, including one year in Shanahan’s offense in 2016. He played center during the offseason program, but that may not be his permanent home.
Justin Skule
San Francisco used their final pick in the 2019 draft to pick up Skule out of Vanderbilt. He was a four-year starter with a streak of 40 consecutive starts to close his career. The former Commodore played at both tackle spots during his career. Skule doesn’t check all the traditional boxes for physical tools tackle, but he found a way to be very productive in college.
Shon Coleman
Coleman served as one of the 49ers’ reserves last season, although he wasn’t active for any games despite being on the 53-man roster. Cleveland selected Coleman with a third-round pick in 2016, and he became a full-time starter the following year. San Francisco acquired him before last season for a seventh-round pick.
Willie Beavers
The Vikings drafted Beavers in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. He never started a game before the team cut him ahead of his second season. Beavers bounced to several different practice squads through 2017 and 2018 before eventually landing with the 49ers this offseason.
Daniel Brunskill
Brunskill was one of the players the 49ers signed from the now-defunct Alliance of American Football. The former college tight end never played a snap in the NFL during two seasons with the Falcons. He was on their practice squad throughout the 2017 and 2018 campaigns. Brunskill’s development as a tackle is ongoing, but his athleticism made him worth a shot for the 49ers.
Wesley Johnson
The journeyman center enters the 2019 season looking for a more permanent home. Johnson was drafted by the Steelers in the fifth-round of the 2014 draft, but got waived midway through the year. The Jets picked him up and he spent four seasons there before playing in 2018 with the Dolphins. Johnson has played in 53 games with 24 starts in his career.
Erik Magnuson
Magnuson’s versatility is very intriguing, and he had a shot to start a game at center last year after competing at multiple offensive line spots in camp. His start didn’t go well and he fell out of favor as a reserve once Garnett got healthy. He signed with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan in 2017. Magnuson has eight games and three starts under his belt across two seasons.
Ross Reynolds
Reynolds is an intriguing undrafted rookie out of Iowa who spent just one year with the Hawkeyes as a full-time starter. He played guard in college and has enough strength and athleticism to make noise in training camp.
Najee Toran
The 49ers signed Toran as an undrafted free agent last year. He had a good enough camp to land on the practice squad. Toran was added to the 53-man roster for a few weeks but wasn’t active for any of them. The 49ers re-signed him to the practice squad after cutting him.
Christian DiLauro
DiLauro spent most of last season on the 49ers’ practice squad after signing as a UDFA with the Browns. He was an All-Freshman selection in the Big 10 at Illinois, and went on to start 38 games during his college career.
The skinny
The 49ers enter 2019 in a pretty good place with their offensive line. There shouldn’t be any changes with the starting five, which should help expedite Jimmy Garoppolo’s return to form since he’ll have that familiarity up front.
Staley’s return and subsequent two-year extension bode well for this group’s long-term future, as does McGlinchey’s strong rookie season.
The only real position battle may emerge at right guard, although Person’s strong 2018 could make him difficult to unseat.
San Francisco’s depth was a problem last season, and they spent the offseason aiming to fix it with a slew of veteran and rookie additions who won’t likely push for starting jobs, but should shore up the depth chart in such a way that one injury on the offensive line doesn’t completely derail the offense.
Biggest question
Is there another level this group can get to? Last season was a struggle along the interior with some consistency issues in pass protection. Richburg’s leg injury kept him from getting to the high level he played at with the Giants. A healthy 2019 should help him elevate his game. As a whole this group was mostly average last season though. It stands to reason that a jump is coming for the young players Tomlinson and McGlinchey, but Richburg’s climb is less guaranteed. The same goes for Person at right guard. The offense is fine if the line is average, but they’ll need to make a jump into the NFL’s elite if the 49ers are going to maximize themselves on that side of the ball.
Potential surprise
The only realistic surprise would be Person getting unseated as the starting right guard. His only full season as a starter came last year in his sixth season, so a regression isn’t out of the question. It would take a pretty significant jump from Garnett to jump into that role, or one of the newcomers to have a breakout showing in the preseason. Person is likely safe at the top of the depth chart, but his job is the one most likely to go up for grabs, putting a new starting right guard in the interior of the 49ers’ line.
53-man roster prediction
The top of the depth chart on the 53-man roster is almost set in stone. Staley and McGlinchey will grab the starting tackle jobs. Tomlinson and Person should be the two guards, and Richburg is going to grab the center spot. Behind them is where things get cloudy.
It’s difficult to pencil in any reserve offensive line spots since nobody on the roster has proven to be an effective backup at this point. Our last projection had Coleman, Reynolds and Garnett as the three reserves with eight offensive linemen on the 53-man roster. We’ll stick with those three for now with the caveat that essentially every lineman on the 90-man roster has a chance to land on the 53-man. Garland is a name to watch, as are Johnson, Magnuson and Toran. This is a group we’ll keep a close eye on throughout the preseason.
