49ers Offensive Line: How Will The Backups Work?

Heading into this offseason, it appeared that one of the 49ers biggest position question marks, if not the biggest, was the right guard position. The team let Adam Snyder and Chilo Rachal walk, leaving a hole on the right side of the line. The 49ers brought in several free agent guards, but ended up signing none of them. The team decided to look at its internal options and may have figured out a solution.

Early in the offseason, it became apparent that the 49ers were going to give swing tackle Alex Boone a crack at the job. Over the course of offseason training activities, it appears as though Alex Boone has taken to the position and has a firm grasp on the job heading into training camp. Some of us thought Daniel Kilgore would get a crack as well, but he spent most of the offseason working at the center position. Although both Boone and Kilgore need to show they can handle things when it's actual 11-on-11 work and game action, it would seem the 49ers are looking to head into 2012 with at Alex Boone as their starting right guard and Daniel Kilgore as the primary interior offensive lineman.

This raises some depth questions. The most notable being backup offensive tackle. Alex Boone handled that role in 2011 and was a very solid option. In 2012, the 49ers find themselves playing with pieces of a puzzle. Matt Maiocco speculated that if one of the tackles went down, Boone could switch over and Kilgore could plug in at right guard.

Am I right to be a little concerned about the depth in that case? Even if Kilgore can fill in ably at right guard, what happens if one of either Joe Staley or Anthony Davis goes down for an extended amount of time? Although Staley was healthy for most of last season, in 2009 and and 2010 he missed seven games each season. He was healthy prior to that, but it's still something to consider.

If the 49ers have seven offensive linemen active on Sundays this fall, what do the 49ers do with that other bench position alongside Kilgore (assuming Kilgore does officially secure a spot)? Mike Person has been getting second team offensive tackle work. When he was drafted, I thought the team would look to develop him as an interior offensive lineman. Considering Person's work this offseason and the team's addition of Jason Slowey as another potential interior lineman, I guess that might not be the case after all. Are you comfortable with the potential depth at offensive line?