Niners prepare to face safety James
SANTA CLARA >> Mike McGlinchey uttered a funny, self-effacing line Wednesday while reflecting on the 2018 NFL Draft, the one in which the 49ers drafted him as their right tackle with the No. 9 overall pick.
It’s the same draft the 49ers passed on taking safety Derwin James Jr., who could be the Los Angeles Chargers’ X-factor Sunday night against the 49ers’ offensive armada of Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and more.
“Most people wanted (James) here and not me, if I remember correctly,” McGlinchey said, “so sorry for the socks and underwear that they got in Christmas 2018.”
McGlinchey won’t be such a boring gift if he plays clean and helps the 49ers (4-4) neutralize James and the Chargers (5-3). James made All-Pro as a rookie, and he earned his second Pro Bowl spot last season when he returned from a knee injury that wiped out his 2020 campaign.
“He’s always around the ball,” cornerback Charvarius Ward said, “and he’s just a play-maker who’s physical and aggressive. He’s one of
those guys who can basically do it all.”
Well, not all. Ward said James tried to recruit him to the Chargers this past offseason before the 49ers won that bidding war.
James is the Chargers’ leading tackler (72, including four for loss). He also has three sacks, three passes defensed, but no takeaways. Still fresh in the 49ers’ memory, however, is how he made a goal-line interception when they visited the Chargers in August 2021 joint practices.
“I think as high of Derwin as any safety in this league,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He’s was that good coming out of college (Florida State), and he’s a guy we really liked. Everything he’s done at the Chargers has been as expected.”
James, drafted No. 17 by the Chargers, signed an extension in August to become the NFL’s highestpaid safety (four years, $76.5 million). McGlinchey, in comparison, is playing out his rookie contract’s fifth-year option.