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Coming into this offseason, the San Francisco 49ers' offensive line was one of the few aspects of the team that were for sure going to be in transition heading into next year. Obviously, a lot changed throughout the course of this offseason and there are now serious red flags all over the team, but that doesn't mean the issues at center and left guard aren't significant.
Well -- there are other issues as well, like Alex Boone being abysmal for much of the 2014-15 season, but provided he gets things back on track, left guard and center are the primary issues. Last season, Mike Iupati served as the starting left guard, and though he struggled immensely all season, Iupati is one of the better guards in the league and him departing in free agency leaves the 49ers with big shoes to fill.
Both tackle positions are pretty well-set at this point. Joe Staley is a dependable veteran who should be fine next season, and I thought Anthony Davis was one of the better players on the line last season. They have their flaws, but they're the starters and the positions are not a concern at this point. Fortunately, when we get to talking about potential draftees, many of the top tackles in this draft project as guards at the next level, so we can talk about both positions regardless.
For center, Daniel Kilgore was excellent last season but suffered a season-ending injury and was replaced by rookie Marcus Martin. We saw some positive things from Martin, but ultimately, he struggled. Those two will presumably battle for the starting center position. At left guard, second-year player Brandon Thomas seems primed to take the spot, as the 49ers drafted him with the intention of him taking over for Iupati. Still, he's an unknown commodity at this point so he'll likely battle Joe Looney for the starting spot.
Free agency is a thing of the past at this point, the 49ers have made the moves they're going to make. Those moves include waiving offensive tackle Jonathan Martin and signing guard/tackle Erik Pears. I don't like letting Martin go -- people here are too hard on him and I think he's what you want out of a backup, but I suppose he was clearly someone who was more liked by Jim Harbaugh than the other coaches.
Pears inspires zero confidence and should be considered a backup along the interior, and now the 49ers have a hole at backup offensive tackle as well. I'd guess that Boone is now the swing tackle, but here's what the depth chart is looking like at offensive line, with the caveat that center could go either way.
LT: Joe Staley, Erik Pears
LG: Brandon Thomas, Joe Looney
C: Daniel Kilgore, Marcus Martin
RG: Alex Boone
RT: Anthony Davis
There are other guys on the roster, like interior lineman Dillon Farrell, and tackles Chris Martin, Andrew Tiller and Fou Fonoti but I don't think any of those guys stand much of a chance of making the 53-man roster without injury. I suppose Farrell has some potential, and would be listed as a backup guard or center.
With the NFL Draft coming up, I have to wonder if the 49ers are in the market for an offensive lineman or not. They likely feel confident they will get two starters out of Thomas, Looney, Kilgore and Martin and I imagine Pears is locked in as a backup with all the money they're giving him. They're paying Pears more than normal backup money and I'm not sure why, because he's not very good.
Still, will the 49ers draft an offensive linemen? Will they take one early? With all of the tackle prospects who may be better fits as guards, I think there's a solid chance for them to be in a position to land a real quality lineman in the second or third rounds and I don't think that happening is super unlikely. Unfortunately, it's not an excellent guard class, but again, a quality tackle could fall, adding some much-needed versatility. Such a tackle could potentially be a swing tackle, taking the burden off of Boone.
Below, I'll list the top offensive tackles, via SB Nation's Dan Kadar, the top guards and the top centers.
Top Tackles
| 1. Brandon Scherff, 6'5, 320 pounds, OT, Iowa |
| 2. La'el Collins, 6'4 5/8, 308 pounds, OT, LSU |
| 3. T.J. Clemmings, 6'4 5/8, 307 pounds, OT, Pittsburgh |
| 4. Andrus Peat, 6'7, 316 pounds, OT, Stanford |
| 5. Ereck Flowers, 6'6, 324 pounds, OT, Miami |
| 6. D.J. Humphries, 6'5, 295 pounds, OT, Florida |
| 7. Cedric Ogbuehi, 6'5, 305 pounds, OT, Texas A&M |
| 8. Jake Fisher, 6'6 1/8, 306 pounds, OT, Oregon |
| 9. Daryl Williams, 6'5, 327 pounds, OT, Oklahoma |
| 10. Jeremiah Poutasi, 6'6, 330 pounds, OT, Utah |
| 11. Rob Havenstein, 6'7 3/8, 332 pounds, OT, Wisconsin |
| 12. Donovan Smith, 6'5 3/4, 341 pounds, OT, Penn State |
| 13. Ty Sambrailo, 6'5 3/4, 309 pounds, OT, Colorado State |
| 14. Tyrus Thompson, 6'5, 336 pounds, OT, Oklahoma |
| 15. Sean Hickey, 6'5 3/4, 309 pounds, OT, Syracuse |
| 16. Terry Poole, 6'5 1/8, 307 pounds, OT, San Diego State |
| 17. Corey Robinson, 6'7, 324 pounds, OT, South Carolina |
| 18. Eric Lefeld, 6'6, 309 pounds, OT, Cincinnati |
| 19. Andrew Donnal, 6'5 7/8, 313 pounds, OT, Iowa |
| 20. Chaz Green, 6'4 5/8, 314 pounds, OT, Florida |
| 21. Darrian Miller, 6'5 1/8, 307 pounds, OT, Kentucky |
| 22. Laurence Gibson, 6'5 3/4, 305 pounds, OT, Virginia Tech |
| 23. Trenton Brown, 6'8 1/2, 376 pounds, OT, Florida |
| 24. Rob Crisp, 6'7, 301 pounds, OT, North Carolina State |
| 25. Jamon Brown, 6'4 3/8, 330 pounds, OT, Louisville |
| 26. Tayo Fabuluje, 6'6 5/8, 353 pounds, OT, TCU |
| 27. Austin Shepherd, 6'4 1/2, 324 pounds, OT, Alabama |
| 28. Mitch Morse, 6'6, 305 pounds, OT, Missouri |
| 29. Brett Boyko, 6'6 5/8, 301 pounds, OT, UNLV |
| 30. Bobby Hart, 6'4 3/4, 336 pounds, OT, Florida State |
| 31. Takoby Cofield, 6'4 1/4, 310 pounds, OT, Duke |
| 32. Brey Cook, 6'7, 314 pounds, OT, Arkansas |
| 33. Patrick Miller, 6'7, 289 pounds, OT, Auburn |
Top Guards
| 1. A.J. Cann, 6'3, 313 pounds, G, South Carolina |
| 2. Laken Tomlinson, 6'3 1/4, 323 pounds, G, Duke |
| 3. Ali Marpet, 6'3 3/4, 307 pounds, G/OT, Hobart College |
| 4. Tre Jackson | 6'4, 330 pounds | G | Florida State |
| 5. Josue Matias, 6'6, 325 pounds, G, Florida State |
| 6. Jarvis Harrison, 6'4, 330 pounds, G, Texas A&M |
| 7. Arie Kouandjio, 6'4 7/8, 318 pounds, G, Alabama |
| 8. John Miller, 6'3, 315 pounds, G, Louisville |
| 9. Shaquille Mason, 6'1 5/8, 310 pounds, G, Georgia Tech |
| 10. Jamil Douglas, 6'4, 304 pounds, G, Arizona State |
| 11. Robert Myers, 6'4 3/4, 326 pounds, G, Tennessee State |
| 12. Jon Feliciano, 6'3 7/8, 323 pounds, G, Miami |
| 13. Kaleb Johnson, 6'4, 300 pounds, G, Rutgers |
| 14. Quinton Spain, 6'5, 332 pounds, G, West Virginia |
| 15. Mark Glowinski, 6'4, 307 pounds, G, West Virginia |
| 16. Adam Shead, 6'3 5/8, 338 pounds, G, Oklahoma |
| 17. Junior Salt, 6'2, 315 pounds, G, Utah |
| 18. Miles Dieffenbach, 6'3, 303 pounds, G, Penn State |
| 19. Christian Lombard, 6'5, 311 pounds, G, Notre Dame |
| 20. Kyle Costigan, 6'5, 319 pounds, G, Wisconsin |
| 21. Tyler Moore, 6'5, 320 pounds, G, Florida |
| 22. Ben Beckwith, 6'3 7/8, 317 pounds, G, Mississippi State |
| 23. Cameron Clemmons, 6'6 3/8, 300 pounds, G/OT, Western Kentucky |
Top Centers
| 1. Cameron Erving, 6'5 1/2, 313 pounds, C/OT, Florida State |
| 2. Hroniss Grasu, 6'3, 297 pounds, C, Oregon |
| 3. B.J. Finney, 6'3 3/4, 318 pounds, C, Kansas State |
| 4. Reese Dismukes, 6'2 7/8, 295 pounds, C, Auburn |
| 5. Max Garcia, 6'4 1/2, 305 pounds, C, Florida |
| 6. Andy Gallik, 6'2 3/8, 306 pounds, C, Boston College |
| 7. Brandon Vitabile, 6'2 1/8, 304 pounds, C, Northwestern |
| 8. Greg Mancz, 6'4 7/8, 307 pounds, C, Toledo |
| 9. Dillon Day, 6'3 3/4, 305 pounds, C, Mississippi State |
| 10. Chris Jasperse, 6'3 3/8, 297 pounds, C, Marshall |