A Possible Reason for not Addressing the OLine. (The Offensive Redshirt Strategy)

Originally posted by pdizo916:

Originally posted by flynhayn15:

Originally posted by pdizo916:

Originally posted by Sickaa:
The thought of Banks and Brunskill at guard this year terrifies me.

This is why you kick out Brunskill at RT, Banks at LG, and have Moore or mckivitz battle it out at RG.

Work in progress but it has massive potential.

I agree, Brunskill should either focus completely on C or T.

It's Kyle's call. But I don't know why he continues to play him at G.....

I've always wanted to see Brunskill at RT, but I doubt Kyle will make that happen. We'll most likely be stuck with MM there again. As for Moore, I'm excited to see him compete for a starting position this season too .

This regime has never valued guard. In fact the only time they ever spent resources on one was last year when they drafted Banks in the 2nd rd.

When they brought in Tomlinson he was considered a bust and most of us thought he was a depth piece. If they haven't brought in someone by know I think it speaks volumes into the faith they have in their recent picks in Moore, Banks, Mckivitz.

I think they draft 2 offensive linemen in this draft.

The resigning of Dwelley fits this strategy as well. There were definite upgrades available, but no one that Kyle would trust if Kittle or Juice went down more than Dwelley.

Here's a reason it's not addressed this offseason:

PFF Final Grade 2021 SF 49ers - Rank 3rd out of 32 NFL

Trent Williams - outlay of over $120 million dollars thru 2026
McG - contract year $10.8 mil

That's a lot of money tied to two tackles. I think now would be a great time to re-sign McG. He's coming off a meh / injured year so should be a reasonable contract. If he chooses to turn it down and bets on himself so to speak that's his choice.

Brunskill can handle Donald
Mack is a pro
Banks was drafted to be a starter, this year he can/will

Draft a center imo to learn from a real pro Mack that's all you need here imo plus some long term deal with McG

The offensive line was and is substantially better than people think it is. Thats why.

/thread

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
The offensive line was and is substantially better than people think it is. Thats why.

/thread

Yup you said it better and with fewer words than I did well done

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by pdizo916:

Originally posted by NCommand:
This is what scares me now. They missed the 24 hour boat to add veteran OL and now we're banking on more rookies to shore up the OL? Fans have no idea what is asked of these OL. This isn't just a zone blocking scheme here. From Mack setting the pass protection sets to every type of running play out there and the amount that is asked of them (#1 in rushing attempts) and needing to be in tip top shape, the jump from college to Kyle's offense is no joke. This is why Kyle prefers veterans esp. ones that know his system even if they aren't talented. You look at that grand list of OL over the years and only a handful are talented and several of them were holdovers.

You and I agree on the O line for the most part.

But maybe you can I can argue that Banks, Moore, mckivitz are ready to take over. They had year(s) in the NFL, although they lack game experience. But at least they know what to expect out of Kyle's system.

I also think Brunskill can benefit GREATLY if he kicks out to RT.

The O line will probably suck for the first part of the season. However, I think the unit can gel as the season progresses.

Great point about how they are all well versed in the system already. I don't think guys like Moore, Brunskill, Skule and McKivitz are talented players. Like Fusco, Person and Compton, these guys are hard workers and are familiar with the system and can get you through a few games as depth. But they continue to prove, the longer they play, the worse they get. A guy like Banks and Tomlinson are first and high second round talents. In theory, they should get BETTER as time goes on. We did see that with Laken. But a team needs quality depth. Our depth is stronger together than our front line OL. IMHO, of course. I think we needed an infusion at the front line in talent which then makes your depth better by default.

Williams - HOF player but oft-dinged up. Who's talented behind him and learning his HOF ways?
Banks - should have the Laken Tomlinson like talent to grow over several years but will probably be a moderate player to start. Learned from Tomlinson to replace him a year in advance. 👍
Mack - final year IF he doesn't retire after getting married. And who's talented behind him and learning his HOF ways? Most important position on the OL...makes all the pass protection sets for the QB.
Brunskill - we've seen enough but Fusco, Person, Compton and Brunskill; this isn't a position of importance for Kyle. At all.
McGlinchey - first round talent with no real talent behind him for the long haul either. Career threatening injury and has played injured "for a very long time" according to MM.

I feel good about the depth stepping in which is inevitable in our system but I have lots of immediate 'and' long term concerns here.

Perhaps a guy like Moore surprises and becomes a really good starter AND continues to get better and better (not worse).

Both of you have some great points here. I'll just add that Laken Tomlinson was a first round draftee but was only worth a *fifth round pick* by the time the 49ers came around. As good as Laken was for us, last year at guard, he was a disappointment before coming here. In other words, guys like McKivits, Skule, and Moore still have a shot at making the starting lineup. I don't think they are at the journeyman level yet, considering they've only had about two years in redshirt mode. I'm hoping they still can develop.

Add in a possible early draft pick to revamp the OLine depth, and I can see this line developing as Pdizo said, throughout the first half of the season. Also great point about smarts and intelligence being as valuable as athleticism and power on Kyle's OLine. I think that's been long neglected on the OLine discussion. Compton and Brunskill were pretty solid on the smarts and intelligence side and didn't miss a lot of assignments. They were physically overmatched - a decent portion of the time, but still enabled the 49ers to get to the NFCCG. If I could have two all pros on that OLIne, and ONLY two all pros (the rest being average) it would be at Left Tackle and Center. Trey can see the right side of the line breaking down in pass protection and escape. Trey can't see the left side breaking down and that's where Trent is. Center is also important because he does make all the protection calls and that center can't make protection call mistakes at all.
Now if they can Draft a Trent Williams 2.0 to play right tackle, I'd be overjoyed!!

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
Like others above, i fall into the group that thinks maybe Kyle and JL are satisfied with the OLs they have and intend to play the cards they were dealt …in draft, FA, and trades. As someone who favors building the OLine first and THEN getting your FrQB, this has been disappointing. However, this isn't the Coach Walsh yrs when Eddie would just be asked to write a check. We all would like that to be the case, but it isn't. So i have just had to adapt and live with however kyle and JL do it.

That said, altho i had anticipated a vet OL in FA, we aren't done yet…i hope. Yes we will draft an OG / OG_C/ C in draft early, whether with our first pick at #61 or our 2nd pick . Most likely BPA + need will bring us an OG or Edge. Next pick we take the other…i hope.

To me that just says JL and kyle are set with their OL talent , both starters and depth. Depth i agree with, starters…well, we;ll see. It is possible there weren't any OLs in FA that either GM or HC liked for our RB game…not to mention PP. it's possible.

But if we go thru our first two draft picks and no OL…i will be stunned. Still, no one other than HC/GM KNOWS what we have at LG and RT & RG. If they are solid sure that from McK, McG, Brun, Banks and Moore they have sure fire starters at all 3 slots…ok, i understand why no OLs in FA or trades.

Still, even if satisfied that we have the talent we need on OL, we almost have to draft a starter type OG or C early on.

Lastly, JL has done well following final cuts, and he may very well bag us an OL there that fits our scheme.

Agree with you Paso. Also the Jimmy shoulder operation really put a damper on their ability to sign OLine free agents. So I don't think it was totally their choice to forego getting a top flight free agent OLineman. Had Jimmy's contract not been there, I think they could have gotten some good free agent OLinemen.

Having said that, I think they have confidence in the draft being deep in OLinemen. They have had a good history of getting day three gems, and that speaks to me of having an excellent scouting eye with regards to the draft. Maybe, they feel like they can get some good OLine options in the draft. They have (for now - barring a trade for Jimmy) about 9 picks. I don't know if they will get a compensatory pick for losing Laken, but if they somehow use the compensatory pick rule to get more future draft picks, that's also another positive in my book for the future.

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
The offensive line was and is substantially better than people think it is. Thats why.

/thread

LOL. Yet 99.9% of fans/local media want to address the OL high in the draft. We'll see how you feel about this unit after a year with Trey behind it.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
The offensive line was and is substantially better than people think it is. Thats why.

/thread

LOL. Yet 99.9% of fans/local media want to address the OL high in the draft. We'll see how you feel about this unit after a year with Trey behind it.

It could be a long and frustrating year for Lance and the offense If they ( the 9ers ) don't do something to fix the O-Line.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
The offensive line was and is substantially better than people think it is. Thats why.

/thread

LOL. Yet 99.9% of fans/local media want to address the OL high in the draft. We'll see how you feel about this unit after a year with Trey behind it.

Virtually Every mock draft out there has them going defense with first 2 picks

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
The offensive line was and is substantially better than people think it is. Thats why.

/thread

LOL. Yet 99.9% of fans/local media want to address the OL high in the draft. We'll see how you feel about this unit after a year with Trey behind it.

But have you considered that 99.94% of stats are made up. Therefore your 99.9 is suspect. Trey will make the line even better imo.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
The offensive line was and is substantially better than people think it is. Thats why.

/thread

LOL. Yet 99.9% of fans/local media want to address the OL high in the draft. We'll see how you feel about this unit after a year with Trey behind it.

Stopped reading at the underlined.

I think you're on to something, I'd also add it's widely recognised now that Oline players are not well coached in college and take longer now than ever to reach an acceptable NFL level.

I think the redshirt year is probably very beneficial for them to get their feet under them amd learn blocking techniques before getting thrown into the fire.

Originally posted by NinerGM:

Originally posted by flynhayn15:
The resigning of Dwelley fits this strategy as well. There were definite upgrades available, but no one that Kyle would trust if Kittle or Juice went down more than Dwelley.

But Dwelley isn't a blocking TE.

It doesn't matter, Woerner is. Toilolo is available again, if he isn't brought back, I think that says a lot about how they feel Woerner is progressing in that role