Joshua Garnett is by far one of my favorite players to watch on film, and that's coming from a Cal fan. Garnett, a human biology major, was a five-star recruit and ranked as the nation's third- best offensive guard coming out of high school, according to Scout.com. He was three-time all-state and was Washington's top recruit by SuperPrep.com. Garnett was also the first player since 2000 to start on the Stanford offensive line as a true freshman, completing 14 games. He then started 14 contests as a sophomore and 13 as a junior, which brings us to his senior campaign in the 2015 season. Garnett has many accomplishments to show for this past year; He was the winner of both the Outland and Morris Trophy, made USA's Today All-America first team, All-Pac-12 first team and Associated Press All-America first-team.
The Basics
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 321 lbs.
40 Yard Dash: 5.32
Broad Jump: 99"
3-Cone Drill: 7.62
The Rundown
Positives:
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Plays with amazingly powerful (30 bench-press reps) leverage, drives arms through defender's pads
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An absolute bulldozer in the run-game
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Always keeps legs driving and superb footwork to go along with it
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Packs a powerful punch to displace defender
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Keeps his hands inside defender's shoulders for the most part
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Has the capability of taking on linebackers at the second level
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Above-par short-area quickness to pull and seal
Negatives:
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Often gets over extended in pass-protection, leading to unbalanced blocking
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Not the most instinctive player
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Side-to-side quickness to maintain quicker edge rushers is a worry
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In spite of being light on his feet, blocks in space will give Garnett trouble
Conclusion
The 49ers offensive line needs serious help. With Kilgore coming back to play center, and Anthony Davis returning from retirement to help out at right tackle, it results in the left and right guard positions needing to be filled. We know Alex Boone will be gone, and Jordan Devey cannot get the job done. Andrew Tiller showed some signs, but is still a little rough around the edges -- it leaves a potentially gaping need for a guard to enter the scene and start immediately. I believe Garnett is the man for the job. With incredibly raw power in the run game, short-area quickness and the speed to get to the second level in a hurry, he's exactly what Chip Kelly looks for in an offensive lineman.