Bay Area native Aaron Banks bolsters 49ers’ O-line
Guard Aaron Banks is joining the 49ers’ concerted effort this offseason to fortify the team’s offensive line — and protect their quarterback tandem of Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance.
Banks, an El Cerrito High School product from Alameda, was the 49ers’ second-round draft pick at No. 48 overall Friday night.
As such a high draft pick — the 49ers’ highest on a guard since first-rounder Joshua Garnett in 2016 — the 49ers might immediately plug the All-American left guard into the starting lineup between vets Trent Williams and Alex Mack.
Or Banks solves the problematic spot at right guard.
Laken Tomlinson, the starting left guard since 2017, is entering his fifth season with the 49ers, at a hefty $4.5 million salary that ranks fourth-highest on the team.
The 49ers drafted Banks after trading down five spots with the Raiders, adding fourth-round selection (No. 121) while giving up their lone remaining seventh-rounder (No. 230).
Adding a rookie into the competition, if not the starting lineup, makes sense amid the veteran presence of Williams at left tackle and Mack at center, both of whom inked deals in March.
Banks (6-foot-5, 325 pounds) was a 2017 redshirt in McGlinchey’s final season at Notre Dame. Now McGlinchey is going on his fourth year, with promises of a 2022 option being exercised.
Mack’s arrival solidified the center spot, but right guard has been a lingering issue, and the 49ers pre-draft options included last year’s trio of Daniel Brunskill, Colton McKivitz and Tom Compton, the latter of whom re-signed this week.
Before the 49ers originally were to draft at No. 43, the Miami Dolphins traded up from No. 50 and selected Notre Dame offensive tackle Liam Eichenberg. The 49ers’ deal with the Raiders promptly followed, and Vegas took safety Travis Moehrig.
One pick before the 49ers selected, the Chargers took cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., at No. 47.
Having used Thursday night’s first-round pick on quarterback Trey Lance, the 49ers have seven picks remaining, including a third-round selection (No. 102) later tonight. A third-round pick (No. 74) was sent to Washington in last year’s trade for left tackle Trent Williams.
Las Vegas Raiders draft Buffalo’s Malcolm Koonce at No. 79
Malcolm Koonce will head to the NFL, and he’ll do so as the first University at Buffalo football player selected in the NFL Draft in four years.
The Las Vegas Raiders selected Koonce, a
defensive end from the University at Buffalo, at No. 79 in the third round of the NFL Draft on Friday in Cleveland.
Koonce is the 15th UB player to be drafted in the program’s history, and the first since 2017, when the Cincinnati Bengals selected Bulls tight end Mason Schreck in the seventh round, at No. 251. He becomes the third UB player drafted by the Raiders, joining Trevor Scott in 2008 and Khalil Mack in 2014.
Koonce was a prospect who skyrocketed on mock draft boards this spring, despite not working out during UB’s pro day in March, due to a broken metatarsal in his foot.
Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN’s draft guru, forecasted Koonce as high as a second-round pick and as low as a third-round pick. Kiper listed Koonce as high as No. 41 in a recent mock draft.
“The more you looked at Malcolm Koonce, the more you had to like him,” Kiper said on a conference call earlier this month. “He got sacks, he finished, he tested well. He can play in reverse, he can get after the quarterback. I liked the way he got through traffic and made tackles in the open field. And he got after the quarterback. He was disruptive getting after the quarterback. When he has to go sideline to sideline, he can. He is a very underrated player. I put him in the second round. It wasn’t to wake people up to him, because the NFL is aware of how good he is.”
Koonce, who is listed at 6-foot2, 249 pounds, had 30 tackles in six games in 2020, including 6.5 tackles for a loss of 38 yards. He also had five sacks, four quarterback hurries and two pass breakups.
Koonce had 109 tackles (61 solo), 18 sacks and four forced fumbles in four seasons at UB.
“The most important thing I learned being here for four years is consistency,” Koonce told reporters during a video conference at UB’s pro day. “You can be good at whatever you do once, but when you’re consistent, that’s when people look at you and say, ‘this guy is special.’ “
The Raiders also had the next pick, No. 80 overall, which they used to select Virginia Tech safety Divine Deablo.