The San Francisco 49ers were dreadful in 2016, so there are plenty of areas they can show improvement in. But what is the No. 1 area in which the 49ers will improve? Niner Noise takes its crack at answering that question below.
The San Francisco 49ers were a bad team in 2015.
How bad? They were very bad, a mess and downright hard to watch. It came from the top down. CEO Jed York and general manager Trent Baalke seemingly ran former head coach Jim Harbaugh out of town and replaced him with rookie head coach Jim Tomsula. The lack of experience showed and so did the lack of talent.
The 49ers offensive line had to be one of the least-talented groups in the NFL last season and, for that matter, their own history.
It featured an arguable bust, Marcus Martin at center, as well as castoffs Jordan Devey and Erik Pears at right guard and right tackle to start the season. A once proud unit, lead by former offensive line coach Bobb McKittrick, had fallen into the depths of despair.
Towards the end of 2015 though, the line started looking better. Starting center Daniel Kilgore had returned from his broken leg, suffered in a 2014 loss to the Denver Broncos, and right guard Devey had been replaced by Pro Football Focus’ (subscription required) No. 1 rated preseason guard Andrew Tiller.
Trenton Brown had also taken over for Erik Pears at right tackle for a three-game stretch to end the year.
How will the 49ers right the ship this year? They can’t come in Week 1 with a line like 2015’s opening day, especially against a Los Angeles Rams team with a great defensive line — one that will be hungry to start the new era off right.
Let’s look at two major areas of improvement for the 49ers 2016 offensive line.
Talent
Building a capable football team always starts with the players. It begins by adding talent to each position group, strengthening one’s strengths and weaknesses.
It doesn’t stop there though, as an injury to a key player can always tremendously impact the season a talented team is having. Take for example this past season, when the Arizona Cardinals lost Hybrid DB Tyrann Mathieu to an ACL tear. Their defense was giving up 19.2 points per game before Mathieu went down. After, they jumped to 28.2 points allowed, according to NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks.
The question is, do the 49ers have enough talent on their line barring unforeseen injuries?
The Offensive Guard Position
2015’s offensive guards were Alex Boone and Devey. Devey, acquired in a preseason trade with the New England Patriots, was probably one of the worst guards I’ve ever watched. He was a joke. Without talent, many plays broke down on his account.
Finally, Devey was benched for Tiller, who was promoted from the practice squad.
The backups to Boone and Devey were Tiller, who we’ve discussed some, and Pears who I’d rather not discuss. Pears was better at guard than at tackle, but was still dreadful. Tiller, on the other hand, played well and proved his preseason was not a fluke. He’s competing for a starting job this season.
And that brings me to 2016’s guards. We don’t know yet who will start in Week 1, but we do know they’ll be a stronger group this year. Hopefully, that makes for more consistency out of the starting two, but we will see.
Zane Beadles and first-round draft pick Joshua Garnett should head this group. But Tiller seems to be making strides, as he was the starting right guard during the final week of 49ers OTAs, according to Jennifer Lee Chan of ninersnation.com. Brandon Thomas started for the first two weeks, but was doing position drills only as things wrapped up on Thursday.
Right now, backups to Beadles and Tiller include Thomas (close second to Tiller), Garnett (not practicing due to a school restriction), Ian Silberman (a 2015 draft pick), rookie Fahn Cooper and Colin Kelly.
Overall the group is much deeper than last season, and should hold up much better too.
Prediction
The 49ers will start Beadles and Garnett at guard. Garnett could be the 49ers second best lineman to Joe Staley. If all goes well, Beadles could return to his 2012 Pro Bowl form.
Players to watch in camp
One- Andrew Tiller
Tiller played well last season. If he’s able to move well enough (big question for a 6’3″ 324 pound mauler), he could steal a starting spot away.
Fellow Niner Noise writer Bryan Knowles wrote a great slide on Tiller as a breakout candidate for 2016. I tend to agree with him. It would be a shame not to give Tiller a look. Loved Tiller in 2015. Once the coaches put him in, Tiller elevated the entire unit.
Two- Brandon Thomas
Thomas has talent. He played left tackle for Clemson and was drafted with the No. 100 overall pick in 2014, after sustaining an ACL injury in a private workout with the New Orleans Saints. Thomas has been with the ones in OTAs. Hopefully he builds on that going into mandatory minicamp next week, and later in the offseason, training camp.
The Center Position
There is no question who will start at center in 2016, but let’s look at why it’ll be an improvement from 2015.
Let’s start with Martin.
Over the last two seasons, Martin has started 22 games for the 49ers at center and right guard. He’s been dreadful. During the 49ers Week 13 game against the Chicago Bears, Martin gave up two sacks to Bears NT Eddie Goldman, according to James Brady of ninersnation.com.
Goldman recorded 4.5 sacks on the season, but two of those came against Martin. Martin shouldn’t even make this year’s team. He’s a green-room bust. There was a reason it took him so long to be selected, because he isn’t as good as so called “draft experts” in the media thought he was.
Now for Kilgore.
Kilgore is more than a solid center. Three years ago, Jeff Deeney of Pro Football Focus (subscription required) discussed the 49ers offensive line saying, “Third-year player Daniel Kilgore, who racked up a +5.1 run grade in just 59 run snaps in 2012 (mostly as an extra tight end), may push Goodwin for playing time.”
It took Kilgore until 2014, but he finally captured the starting center job in San Francisco. Before his season was cut short by a broken leg, Kilgore started seven games and was graded top 12 among centers. He’s a very good run blocker and smart in pass protection.
Prediction
Kilgore starts at center and Martin finds his way off the team. The 49ers have a great starting center, but desperately need a backup.
Offensive Line Coach Pat Flaherty
Pat Flaherty has been a great line coach in the NFL. Having coached for 35-plus years, Flaherty brings an amazing pedigree to the 49ers O-Line room. Flaherty has been coaching the New York Giants offensive line for the past twelve seasons.
Why is all of that significant?
Since becoming the starting quarterback of the Giants, Eli “same face everyday” Manning has started 183 consecutive games, according to 49ers.com.
The Giants have also been a top-10 offense in six of the last eight seasons. We can give plenty of credit to Flaherty for that, because games are won and list in the trenches and it all starts up front. And he’s recently developed first round selection Justin Pugh and center Weston Richburg into fine starters for the Giants.
Finally, Flaherty has been a huge part of two Super Bowl victories against the New England Patriots. Without an offensive line, you can’t win a Super Bowl right? So, he really gets you excited for the 49ers line, because the 49ers have talent to work with.
Final Thoughts
Between players like Beadles, Garnett, Tiller and Thomas, there is a lot to work with at guard. Kilgore will lock down the center position. With a potential starting five of Staley, Beadles, Kilgore, Garnett and Brown on the 49ers O-Line, Flaherty could turn a projected nightmare of a season into something truly special.
Next: San Francisco 49ers: Identifying Most Important Figures in Chip Kelly's Offense
All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro Football Reference and NFL.com unless otherwise indicated.