While the eyes and ears of 49ers fans are focused on a possible trade involving Jimmy Garoppolo, the draft inches closer by the day, we all know about the holes at cornerback and right guard, but on today’s Oh, Hey There! podcast, Leo Luna and Javier Vega pointed out one more area the team should be worried about.
“I think 49ers fan should prepare themselves for an offensive tackle selection at 61,” Vega said, “What happens to Mike McGlinchey? Is he back? Can he recover from that quad tear? No one has told us the severity of that quad tear. No one has told us anything about his progress and his rehab. According to some medical experts, this is a 50/50 thing where a guy comes back and plays well. If he was already compromised as a talent before the injury, how does he look after the injury? Would it be smart for the 49ers to focus on an offensive tackle at 61?”
News on Mike McGlinchey’s status has been sparse at best. If McGlinchey isn’t ready for the start of the season, or worse, can’t return at all, the 49ers could be in a very difficult position regarding their offensive line.
Trent Williams’ place is secure. He’s the best left tackle in the league, and he just got a new contract. After that, though, things are murky, at best.
Laken Tomlinson is a free agent and will have lucrative offers from other teams. Alex Mack is almost 40 and hasn’t told the team he’s coming back next year. Daniel Brunskill has replaced McGlinchey as 49ers fans’ most hated offensive lineman, and Tom Compton was always just a band-aid for McGlinchey himself (and not one of those good cloth band-aids, either. One of that weird, kind of plastic-y ones that always starts to come off the second after you put on).
The offensive line is clearly going to be a priority this year. San Francisco already invested three first-round picks in Trey Lance, and it would make no sense to give up all that capital without the pieces in place to protect him. Time will tell if right tackle gets added to the list of needs.
Other topics in the episode
- Where would Trey Lance fall if he was in this year’s draft class?
- Is Laken Tomlinson going to leave via free agency?
- Non-Jimmy Garoppolo related moves the team will make this offseason
- Richard Sherman saying Stephon Gilmore could come to the 49ers
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