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San Francisco 49ers: And with the first pick in the 2019 Draft, they select…

By Kevin Saito

HOUSTON, TX - DECEMBER 10: Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates with general manager John Lynch after the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on December 10, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - DECEMBER 10: Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates with general manager John Lynch after the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on December 10, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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CHESTNUT HILL, MA – OCTOBER 13: Chris Lindstrom #75 of the Boston College Eagles leads the Boston College Eagles out of the tunnel before the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Alumni Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /

Left and Right Guards

San Francisco’s offensive line is slowly coming together. They’ve got a couple of outstanding tackles in Joe Staley and Mike McGlinchey. They’ve also got a pretty solid center in Weston Richburg.

Where the line falls woefully short are on those interior spots that are usuallly manned by some combination of Laken Tomlinson, Mike Person, and Joshua Garnett. Overall, the line play hasn’t been great. It’s a unit that has given up a total of 35 sacks on the year and has, at time, had trouble run blocking as well.

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To have success moving forward – which starts with keeping their quarterbacks upright – it’s more than clear the 49ers are going to need an upgrade along the interior of their line. They need better play out of their guards – something that’s plagued this team for a while now.

Taking an offensive linemen with a first round pick isn’t sexy – but, they did just that in taking McGlinchey with the ninth overall pick last year and that seems to have worked out pretty well for them so far.

It’s not all that hard to imagine a scenario where Lynch trades back, accumulates a little more draft capital, then making a move to nab one of the top guards in this year’s draft. While there aren’t any who are as dominant as Quenton Nelson – a dominance that led him being taken sixth overall by the Indianapolis Colts – there is still some talent who will be available well worth keeping an eye on.

Chris Lindstrom out of Boston College could fit in well on San Francisco’s line. As could Texas A&M’s Erik McCoy, or Oklahoma’s Cody Ford, who’s playing tackle at the moment, but most scouts believe will be better suited – and possibly dominant – as a guard in the NFL.

Offensive linemen are never sexy picks, but they’re absolutely necessary and the 49ers are in need of an upgrade.