Part Three of Niner Noise’s Assessment on the 49ers 2016 NFL Draft Needs: Offensive Tackle

It’s time for the third installment of Niner Noise’s take on NFL.com’s breakdown of the San Francisco 49ers’ needs in the 2016 NFL Draft. In this segment, we break down offensive tackle and what the Niners may do to fix the end of the offensive line.

Welcome to part three of this five-part series breaking down Lance Zierlein of NFL.com’s assessment of the San Francisco 49ers’ needs in the upcoming 2016 NFL Draft.

This session will focus on what many believe to be the Niners’ top need in the draft: the offensive line and, more specifically, the tackle position.

Fans need not be reminded how atrocious San Francisco’s O-line was in 2015. It was a unit which allowed a total of 53 sacks to quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert — tied for second most in the league — and was widely viewed as the weakest link within the 49ers offense.

Pro Football Focus ranked the Niners O-line 27th in the league overall, 14th in pass blocking and 30th in run blocking.

Many players’ individual grades weren’t much prettier. We’ll get to that in a moment.

We can cross off veteran left tackle Joe Staley from the worry list. The 31-year-old Staley, who now sits as the longest-tenured 49er, earned a trip to the Pro Bowl for his efforts last season. If there’s any worry, it’s whether or not Staley’s age will be a factor now he’s on the wrong side of 30 years old.

Staley will anchor the left side of the line. There aren’t too many concerns about that, aside from injury.

But what about the right side?

It was a position left vacant last year by the sudden departure of tackle Anthony Davis. The former first-round pick of the 49ers abruptly retired prior to the 2015 season to take a break, mentally and physically, from the rigors of life at the NFL level.

With the 2015 NFL Draft already in the books, San Francisco was left scrambling for a replacement and elected to go with then-offseason acquisition Erik Pears, who had initially been signed as a swing tackle and an option for the guard position.

Pears’ efforts weren’t particularly inspiring, to put things lightly. He allowed 10 sacks, 37 quarterback pressures and finished with a minus-30.7 overall grade, according to PFF (subscription required) — among the worst on the offense in each respective category.

The 33-year-old veteran ended up starting all 16 games for the 49ers but ended up shifting to the right guard position late in the season.

This move opened up the door for then-rookie tackle Trent Brown, who finished 2015 with a minus-3.3 overall grade, per PFF, yet had some promising moments.

Brown might be an option for the 49ers over the long run. Yet solving the 49ers’ O-line woes will likely require some attention via the 2016 NFL Draft.

As noted previously, Staley isn’t getting any younger. And how long should fans expect the veteran to continue playing at a high level. Brown also had his moments, and could have many more, yet is he on an upswing? Or is he best utilized as a backup option?

Tackles Ian Silberman and Colin Kelly are also options, but likely nothing more than depth at this point. They might not even make the 49ers’ 53-man roster in 2016 either.

So let’s turn our attention to the draft and see whether or not San Francisco could go this route.

Here’s a list of top prospects, according to CBS Sports:

1. Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss
2. Ronnie Stanley, Notre Dame
3. Jack Conklin, Michigan State
4. Taylor Decker, Ohio State
5. Jason Spriggs, Indiana
6. Germain Ifedi, Texas A&M
7. Shon Coleman, Auburn
8. Le’Raven Clark, Texas Tech
9. Jerald Hawkins, LSU
10. John Theus, Georgia

Ole Miss tackle Laremy Tunsil is widely viewed to be the first player off the board, as the Tennessee Titans — armed with the first overall pick and looking for O-line help — have been mocked to draft him.

But Notre Dame’s Ronnie Stanley could fall to the 49ers, who own the No. 7 pick in the first round.

Stanley would be an enticing prospect and could easily be slated in as a starter this season.

Here’s what Rob Rang and Dane Brugler of CBS Sports wrote about the 6’6″, 312-pound prospect last November:

"He has experience at right tackle (13 starts in 2013) and left tackle (27 starts the past two seasons) with athleticism to suit any offensive scheme.His lacks technical refinement and will struggle initially in the NFL as he learns the finer points to the game, but he has the size, length and athletic ability that few his size possess, which is why he’ll be drafted high."

The 49ers could, of course, sit back and wait a few rounds to address this need. Texas Tech’s Le’Raven Clark could be had late in Round 2 or early in Round 3. And there are plenty of other options later on in the draft.

In an ideal setting, San Francisco would get a player who could come in right away and compete with Brown for the starting job. And, at worst, a prospect may be groomed into a nice backup option should the 49ers suffer an injury at one of the two slots.

We haven’t mentioned the possibility of Davis returning to the fray yet. The five-year veteran has provided numerous hints, via his Twitter account, of a return. And the 49ers still own his rights.

Those overtures are nice. But until he is officially reinstated, Davis remains retired. He’s not with the team until he is. It’s that simple.

And it won’t be as if the 49ers will just hand him his starting job back either.

So the offensive tackle position remains a need for San Francisco. And a critical one.

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All too often, games are won or lost in the trenches. And the tackle position is of the utmost importance to the O-line. Good tackles can help make an OK offense look great. Bad ones… well 49ers fans can speak about that plenty enough.

Look for the 49ers to add at least one tackle via the draft. Who and when this happens is anyone’s guess, but it’s a pressing need not to be overlooked.

And we can only hope those additions wind up being the necessary parts to help turn one of San Francisco’s biggest weakness back into a strength.

Next: Breaking Down the 49ers O-line Prior to NFL Draft

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.