San Francisco 49ers: Three rookies who will likely start in 2018

Mike McGlinchey, OT

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Mike McGlinchey will be the San Francisco 49ers week one starter at right tackle, barring any unforeseen injuries.

San Francisco 49ers

Nearly all top ten picks, besides quarterbacks, are more than likely going to start immediately, and McGlinchey is no exception to this. The San Francisco 49ers offensive line was far from a strength of the team’s in 2017, so it is no surprise they addressed it heavily in the offseason.

The team signed former New York Giants center, Weston Richburg, and of course selected McGlinchey with the number nine pick in the first round. If there were ever any doubt that the team’s newest first round pick would start as a rookie, that evaporated soon after the selection was made when the team traded their former starting right tackle, Trent Brown, to the New England Patriots.

This made it clear that Mike McGlinchey would be the team’s new right tackle from the jump. The most important thing in football is finding a quarterback. The second most important thing a team must do is to protect that quarterback. With the arrival of McGlinchey the team has now made an effort to accomplish both of these tasks.