Stanford's head football coach, David Shaw, joined the NFL Network team on the first day of the draft in Chicago to offer commentary and analysis about this year's draftees. He was understandably excited when the San Francisco 49ers moved back into the first round to pick up one of his former players. It's fair to say that Shaw may have a slightly biased view on his former offensive linemen Joshua Garnett but he probably knows him better than anyone else that was at the table. He was quite frank when discussing areas of improvement.
You know what you get when you get Joshua Garnett? You a get brilliant young man, right? He's a biology major at Stanford University, but you're going to get a tough son-of-a-gun. This guy loves football, he's physical, he's nasty, he's got some work to do as a pass protector, which he improved every single year but right now you're going to get an above the line, one of the best physical run blockers you're going to see come out of college in the last couple years and I can't wait to see this young man play on Sundays.
The 49ers definitely have a need on the OL and Garnett is a highly enthusiastic player who not only showed up at the 49ers local pro day but actually did all of the work. His family are 49ers Faithful and he was already sporting a 49ers cap at the pro day. He is also more than excited to play with Joe Staley. Oh, and he's already won a championship game at Levi's Stadium.
Here's the full video:
Want to know about the @49ers' newest guard?
— NFL (@NFL) April 29, 2016
Just ask @CoachDavidShaw. He knows a thing or two about him. #NFLDraft https://t.co/FYQOKOt7bp