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San Francisco 49ers: Starting Lineup Predictions for 2016 Season

By Trevor Irvine

Jun 8, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebackers huddle during minicamp at the San Francisco 49ers Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 8, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebackers huddle during minicamp at the San Francisco 49ers Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jun 8, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers tackle Joe Staley (74) walks onto the practice field during minicamp at the San Francisco 49ers Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 8, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers tackle Joe Staley (74) walks onto the practice field during minicamp at the San Francisco 49ers Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Offensive Line

Left tackle – Joe Staley

Left guard – Zane Beadles

Center – Daniel Kilgore

Right guard – Joshua Garnett

Right tackle – Trent Brown

There is absolutely no doubt linemen Joe Staley and Daniel Kilgore are the presumptive starters on this line. After this, it gets a little murkier.

Zane Beadles is the most likely candidate for the left guard position. He has played there his whole career and he is obviously the most comfortable there. He was also given a three-year contract, so with the team having invested a lot of dollars into him, he will start at left guard.

Joshua Garnett was drafted No. 28 overall in the recent draft, and the Niners traded up to nab him in the first round so they could get him (according to the rumors) ahead of the Seattle Seahawks.

Hey, we finally beat the Hawks at something!

Garnett is a noted run blocker (his head coach at Stanford David Shaw said he is a “mauler”) and the running game is of paramount importance to Kelly and general manager Trent Baalke. There is little chance with what has been invested in him that he starts off his NFL career as a backup.

With the release of last year’s opening day starter Jordan Devey, Garnett will get the nod. He brings more to the table with his nastiness and run blocking techniques compared with Andrew Tiller.

Despite reporting to the beginning of the offseason program as being “overweight,” Trent Brown will get the chance to start the year at right tackle. When he was given the chance to start late last season, he performed quite well. He was a big improvement over Erik Pears. He showed the ability to actually block his direct opponent, unlike Pears.

Additionally, there is no chance the Niners start a rookie at right tackle.

Next: Running Backs