The 49ers have options in this year’s draft. Offensive tackle remains their most glaring need, but it’s not a slam dunk that they go that route with their first pick. It’s also not out of the question they take multiple players at that position to give themselves as many options as possible while building out an offensive line.
Penn State’s Caedan Wallace is a later-round OT candidate who would make a ton of sense for San Francisco, and they’re hosting him on a top-30 visit according to the Draft Network’s Justin Melo.
Wallace won’t make his way into any Day 1 mock drafts. He may not even land in a Day 2 mock. As Day 3 prospects go though it’s easy to see how the 49ers could quickly fall in love with Wallace given their situation at right tackle.
In five seasons with the Nittany Lions, Wallace started 40 of the 47 games he played at right tackle. He checks all the size boxes at 6-5, 314 pounds with 34-inch arms. His athleticism won’t blow any coaches away, but Wallace has enough of a well-rounded skill set that the lack of elite athleticism shouldn’t make him an unplayable pro.
While Wallace grades out as a mostly average run blocker per Pro Football Focus, he allowed just one sack and 13 pressures in pass protection last season. In 2022 he gave up one sack and 12 pressures. The two sacks and 25 pressures across his final two college seasons were a massive improvement over the five sacks and 35 pressures he gave up just in the 2021 campaign.
That improvement, combined with his experience and size make Wallace the kind of prospect who could definitely compete for a starting right tackle job right away. If he’s unable to do that, there’s plenty to build on if the 49ers want to develop him for either a future starting job, or a spot as a swing tackle in a deeper version of San Francisco’s offensive front.
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