One of the top priorities for the 49ers this offseason should be figuring out the tackle spot opposite Trent Williams. Finding good offensive tackle play isn’t particularly easy, but San Francisco might have lucked into a good year to have it be one of their biggest needs.
NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah on Thursday in a conference call said there may be upwards of 10 starting OTs in this year’s draft.
“It’s a loaded tackle class,” Jeremiah said. “Just in terms of that top group, there’s 10, 11 guys that are really interesting. I think we’ll see a bunch of starters, a bunch of day one starters out of that tackle group.”
Finding the best player is typically a more effective draft strategy than simply identifying a need and picking a player there, but if there’s a starting-caliber tackle when the 49ers pick at No. 31 it’s hard to imagine they’d pass on the opportunity to take one.
Ideally they’d find a player who can start for the time being at right tackle and then move to the left side, but finding an upgrade from Colton McKivitz on the right side would be a significant help for an offensive line that needs more viable long-term answers. It looks like 2024 will be a good year to find that help.
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