Both offensive and defensive lines have some questions for the San Francisco 49ers. This latest mock draft from NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice has them addressing the former not for the offensive line now, but for what the offensive line in the future will be.
Filice has the 49ers taking Georgia left tackle Monroe Freeling. Freeling has decent size at 6’ 7” and 315 lbs. The one thing small about him is his starts; with only 16 games in his college career under his belt:
Trent Williams can’t play forever. And Freeling probably needs some time to marinate in the NFL before taking over as a full-time starter. Seems like an ideal mentorship situation for San Francisco. Extremely long and athletic, Freeling boasts rare traits that could shoot him up the draft board in the coming months. But he made just 16 starts at Georgia and would benefit from filling out his frame before taking on the edge monsters in the NFL.
It’s a pick that we all know will need to be made at some point. In the first round? Well, yeah. I don’t mind having someone sit for a position as important as left tackle, but if it’s someone with 16 starts who may “have” to sit, that’s where I’m a bit cautious. This gives me Trey Lance vibes, and those aren’t vibes I’d want. Nothing wrong with a first round pick who has to marinate on the sidelines to learn the pro game, but the limited starts means they are caught in a catch-22 of needing to play more football, and the fact the whole idea is to not rush them.
The big thing about Freeling that stands out to me—and has been documented—is his run blocking can be a bit inconsistent. That’s something that can be rectified with coaching, however.
I like Freeling, and I like the idea of him on the 49ers, and learning for a year. I don’t like him being drafted in the first round with the idea that he’d be replacing Trent Williams. I like Colton McKivitz, but if, in a year,, Freeling showed he could be the right tackle of the future,, that’s when all of this would make me feel a bit better. Left tackle with limited starts, to replace one of the best who has ever played the position, he doesn’t seem like the right fit for that.
Then again, when is someone the right fit for that. Moreoever when is someone the right fit at where the 49ers are picking? Getting a player like described would require a top-10 pick. The 49ers don’t have that, nor do I think many of us want to see them doing another blockbuster trade to obtain one.