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You never know what to expect on a Monday, but we saw JJ Watt sign with the Cardinals and a report about the 49ers reaching out to Carolina to ask about the services of Teddy Bridgewater. What will Tuesday bring us?
“I think it’s pretty unusual for a guy like that [to hit the open market],” said Mike Tannenbaum, ESPN’s NFL front-office insider.
“Trent has been an awesome teammate, an awesome competitor and obviously one of the elite offensive tackles in football,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “The job that he’s done for us this year speaks volumes, and hope to God we can keep him for a little bit longer here.”
“It always comes down to allocation,” Tannenbaum said. “So basically what you want to say is, ‘Hey, look, if we stretch on Trent, here’s what we can’t do.’ I think they’ve done a pretty good job of that. Like, they said, ‘We can’t pay DeForest Buckner, so we’re going to have to draft Javon Kinlaw.’ Those are sort of the things you have to look at, so if you feel like you have to have Trent, then here’s what we can’t do.”
New 49ers OC Mike McDaniel explains the thinking behind a Kyle Shanahan offense
“So, in the process, because of that, you are always challenging yourself, and kind of the assumption is that you’re always evolving. That is the standard.
“One thing that’s always hit with me is that there’s a lot of people around the NFL that talk about what they know. And really, our culture and the way Kyle has always gone about things is that it’s not about what we know. It’s about what we don’t know. So, challenging us year in and year out.”
“Really, in its simplest form, something that Kyle came up with a long time back ... is the idea is to have no stand-alone plays in a game,” McDaniel explained. “What that means is let’s remove the success or failure factor. That play should influence the defense in one way, shape, or form for another play. Even if a play doesn’t work, showing them that presentation of that play should make them worried about something that we have to play off of it.”
Wilson, potential 49ers draft pick, motivated by Steve Young
“Like Steve not cashing his checks. It’s so cool his mentality of, ‘I haven’t earned it yet.’ He’s always hungry for more and some people just feel like they’ve arrived. He was just not like that at all,” Wilson told King. “That was such a cool lesson for me to learn. Even if I am fortunate enough to go early in the draft and make it to a good team, I haven’t done anything yet. You have to keep working for it.
“I think that’s what’s interesting about my career as well. I wasn’t a big recruit. I didn’t have a lot of offers. I went to BYU as just a normal three-star recruit. Nothing special. Nobody expected me to play early. I ended up having a chance to play as a freshman, something that I had to work for—nine quarterbacks in the quarterback room at the time. And then I was nobody last year and I was fighting for my starting job back and having shoulder surgery. Things didn’t go as well as we wanted to and the coaches opened up a competition to try and win the starting spot back. I was so determined to try and win that job back and prove that it was mine.”
“This year, in terms of the first round, it’s not going to be that type of player,” Kiper said Monday on a conference call when asked which edge rushing prospect would fit well in the 49ers’ scheme if they go that route at No. 12. “There’s just nobody to consider that high in terms of the first round. I don’t have a defensive player going until 10. I don’t have a defensive lineman going until 21. Now, [Gregory] Rousseau can play outside and can play inside. He was pretty effective insider, that’s where he was able to really do a good job at Miami two years ago. [Jaelan] Phillips is an outside guy so Phillips could be that guy. Kwity Paye could be that guy, but it’s too early when you’re talking about the 12th pick in the draft. That’s what I’m saying, I think some of these guys, if you trade down off of 12, you could. But I think 12 is way too high.”
Five tackles 49ers could target in 2021 NFL Draft if Trent Williams
ESPN analyst Mel Kiper on Vera-Tucker:
“He played guard before moving to left tackle for USC last season. He impressed there and rocketed up draft boards. I think he’ll probably stick at tackle in the NFL.”
Jeremiah on Vera-Tucker:
“Vera-Tucker is one of the safest players in this draft class. He plays with excellent strength, balance and awareness in pass protection. He will underset at times, allowing defenders on his edge, but he is quick to recover and run them around the pocket.
“He takes excellent angles to the second level and has a good feel on combo blocks. He isn’t the most dynamic athlete, but he’s always under control and rarely in bad position. Overall, I think he has a chance to stick at tackle, but he’s ideally suited to play guard. He is ready to start on Day 1.”