Niners’ Line May Get a Boost Without Using a Draft Pick
In four seasons under Jim Harbaugh, the 49ers ranked as one of the NFL's best rushing teams. The foundation of the offensive success of the team, in fact, was in its terrific offensive line.But in 2015 following the departures of guard Mike Iupati and tackle Anthony Davis, the injury to center Daniel Kilgore and the move of right guard Alex Boone to the left side, the O-Line became a weak link, not a strength.In 2016, the 49ers ranked just 21st in the NFL in rushing and San Francisco quarterbacks were sacked 53 times, tied for second most in the league. There were other factors involved in those two stats, but the weak play of the offensive line was huge in both.One player, veteran free agent Erik Pears, was consistently a sore spot all season, first at right tackle and then right guard, late in the season. Pro Football Focus, the analytics website, graded Pears a poor performer all season, including in Week 17, when he was given a grade of minus-7.4, one of the worst in the NFL that week, for his play against the Rams. In that game, PFF cited both his poor run blocking and bad pass protection.It's possible that the 49ers could use their No. 1 draft pick this spring, the No. 7...
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"Piecing together a mock like this is time consuming, but I enjoy the exercise, because it allows me to focus on each team's needs, organizational trends and prospect-team pairings that make sense based on '30' visits, league buzz and overall interest," Brugler wrote.
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