What will happen with 49ers’ new-look O-line?
SANTA CLARA — The 49ers are expected to bring back 18 of their 22 starters from last season’s team that made the Super Bowl.
That’s a strong number overall. But there’s one position that could have 40 to 60 percent new starters from last September if and when the 2020 season begins: the offensive line.
That’s because, at minimum, the team will have new starters at left tackle and right guard due to the retirements of Joe Staley and Mike Person (who was released). And there could be a third if starting center Weston Richburg misses time following his torn patellar tendon in his right knee in December against the Saints.
Richburg has said he expects to be healthy in time for the start of training camp July 28. Ben Garland, who started the final three regular season games and throughout the playoffs, would be the favorite to replace him if he had to miss any time. This marks the second straight offseason Richburg is working back from a surgically repaired knee injury, so the 49ers might be inclined to take their time with him.
Trent Williams, a seven-time Pro Bowler, replaces Staley at left tackle after being acquired via trade from Washington soon after Staley officially hung up his cleats in late April. Some would make the case Williams provides an upgrade between the lines.
The competition at right guard to replace Person is less clear with a number of candidates for offensive line coach John Benton to sort through.
The early favorite is Daniel Brunskill, who played three positions admirably in a utility role last year while the offensive line dealt with a slew of injuries. He performed well at right tackle and right guard, and helped
spark the offense following a slow first-quarter start against the Green Bay Packers in November when he took over at left tackle for Justin Skule, who was dealing with an injury and struggled in Staley’s place.
There’s also veteran Tom Compton, who was a sixth-round pick with Washington when Kyle Shanahan was the offensive coordinator in 2012. Compton, 31, signed a one-year, $2.75 million deal with San Francisco in the spring after spending the last four seasons with the Jets, Vikings, Bears and Falcons in 2016 during Shanahan’s last year there as offensive coordinator.
The 49ers also used a fifth-round draft pick on West Virginia’s Colton McKivitz, whom the team gave a fourth-round grade. And while it was uncertain the front office could pull off a trade for Williams, Shanahan said McKivitz would have been in the mix to replace Staley at left tackle which speaks to how highly McKivitz is valued.
“One thing that was really cool was if the Washington deal didn’t go through, one of our plan Bs was to try to draft Colton there in the fourth round and then we made that risk to move that to go up and get the receiver (Brandon Aiyuk) we wanted,” Shanahan said following the draft. “Then we did end up getting Trent and to still be able to get him (McKivitz) in the fifth round was a hell of a deal. We felt really excited about how today went.”
McKivitz played right tackle for most of his first three seasons with the Mountaineers before starting all 12 games at left tackle as a senior. College tackles have typically transitioned well to guard in Shanahan’s offense because of their athleticism and range for the outside zone running scheme. McKivitz, the son of a coal minor, is known for a nasty personality. He won co-offensive lineman of the year for the Big 12 and was named first-team All-Conference in 2019.
Under the new collective bargaining agreement signed in March, active rosters on game day will expand from 46 to 48, with a provision allowing for eight offensive lineman to be in uniform. The 49ers should be well-suited for such a scenario with their improved depth at the offensive line through their additions.
But the COVID-19 pandemic has complicated things by taking away the on-field portion of the offseason program. It remains to be seen if training camp will start on time later this month.
Whenever the 49ers get back on the field, they’ll have to hit the ground running from a chemistry standpoint given the new faces that will be in the starting lineup.