McGlinchey gets lesson from best
Rookie tackle has sitdown of sorts with Texans’ Watt
HOUSTON >> Mike McGlinchey, the 49ers’ rookie right tackle and future cornerstone, won’t ever forget his first rep against J.J. Watt, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year with 76 career sacks.
“I got my ‘Welcome to the NFL.’ He put me on my back,” McGlinchey said after Wednesday’s sweat-soaked practice at the Houston Texans facility.
“But other than that, it was pretty good,” McGlinchey added. “I did pretty well as the day went on, and it was obviously a great challenge with one of the best defensive players in the last 25 years.”
McGlinchey, it turns out, had a day — and not just a snap — to remember against Watt. They faced off repeatedly after that first-rep takedown, and the 49ers’ top draft pick held his own, or so it seemed. Jimmy Garoppolo remains off limits from hits or sacks
in even joint practices like this one.
Nose tackle Earl Mitchell played alongside Watt in Houston before joining the 49ers last year, and Mitchell warned McGlinchey about the lesson he would get.
“I did what I could. But he’s got to learn the ropes, man,” Mitchell said. “He’s got to have some growing pains. I’m sure J.J. gave him some work and it’s going to be beneficial for his career.”
Watt, 29, told one 49ers staffer he was impressed with how low McGlinchey (6-foot-8, 315 pounds) gets in his stance and that their first encounter had more to do with McGlinchey’s errant footwork.
“I stretched them a little too far, he hit me pretty good, my feet got a little out of whack and he put me on my back,” McGlinchey said. “He’s a strong guy, and if you miss a move, he’s going to make you pay for it.”
McGlinchey, 23, took one step with his left foot toward Watt and, upon impact, McGlinchey’s right leg caved at a gnarly angle. The 49ers’ top draft pick promptly folded backward like a wrestler getting pinned. Watt’s right arm did all the work, showing the super-human strength that made him the NFL’s most-feared defender until back and leg injuries forced him to miss 24 of the past 29 games.
McGlinchey welcomed the day-long challenge, having played only a few snaps in last Thursday’s exhibition opener against another elite pass rusher, the Dallas Cowboys’ Demarcus Lawrence.
“That was my first real taste of what it’s really like. It was exciting and good stuff,” McGlincey added. “I had J.J. all day today so it was a pretty good deal.”
Other highlights from
the 49ers’ practice against the Texans:
EARLY SCUFFLE >> A fight between 49ers defensive back Jimmie Ward and Texans star receiver DeAndre Hopkins erupted one minute after the McGlinchey-Watt pancake on the other practice field.
Ward twice pressed Hopkins coming off the line of scrimmage, knocking off Hopkins’ helmet. They shoved each other once before Hopkins took a swing, Ward retaliated and teammates rushed in to separate them. Hopkins immediately got ejected from practice, and as he exited the field, he went to shake hands with Ward, whose workload was limited to conditioning sprints with Richard Sherman and injured nickel back K’Waun Williams.
“Jimmie is such a big competitor and I’m sure he regrets it,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said. “But, hopefully we get him out there tomorrow and it’ll be, I mean, him and Hopkins ended up shaking hands afterwards, anyway, so it was just the heat of the battle.”
ALFRED ARRIVES >> Veteran running back Alfred Morris made his practice debut and split time with three other reserves while Jerick McKinnon (calf) and Matt Breida (shoulder) remain out of practice.
Morris, 29, says he can adapt quickly because he was “groomed” in coach Kyle Shanahan’s system his first two seasons in Washington (2012-13). After four seasons there and the past two in Dallas, he drew interest early in free agency from the 49ers and New York Jets, before the 49ers signed McKinnon.
Morris said of Wednesday’s debut: “They gave me opportunities to get in and get my feet wet, and that’s good, because I need to get my legs back under me and only football gets you ready for football, no matter how
much you train.”
Morris (5-10, 220) has a more stout build than McKinnon and Breida but said he’s not necessarily a “power” back, adding: “I go out and demand my respect in a sense by lowering my shoulder and running through guys.”
Morris rotated with Jeremy McNichols, Raheem Mostert and Joe Williams, the latter having missed the past two practices to attend his brother-in-law’s funeral. RATING RECEIVERS >> Inconsistency such as in Wednesday’s practice won’t help Kendrick Bourne’s case to stick among the wide receivers. He dropped two potential touchdown passes. Aaron Burbridge also had a couple woeful plays.
Meanwhile, almost every other receiver came through with a key catch or two, especially Marquise Goodwin, Pierre Garçon, Trent Taylor, Dante Pettis and Richie James, who all look like roster locks. Garçon made a toe-tapping touchdown catch on a beautifully thrown 40yard pass from Garoppolo against the Texans’ starting defense. James earlier showed his touted “fearless” streak with a nifty catch in double coverage, shrugging off a hard hit. CORNERBACK DEPTH >> With Ward exiting early and Sherman limited to individual conditioning, the 49ers got to test their cornerback depth. On the left side, Greg Mabin made a nice breakup of a Deshaun Watson pass. On the right side, rookie Tavarius Moore broke up a Brandon Weeden pass intended for Sammie Coates along the boundary, only to give up a completion on the same route the next snap.
Saleh said of Moore: “A great sequence of events for him to learn off of. He had a really good day off of what I saw with the one-onones and team.” Tyvis Powell, another backup cornerback, gave up a touchdown pass to Weeden.