49ers 2017 Season: San Francisco’s new running game
By Jonah Burros
Offensive line and quarterbacks
The single position group that has not changed significantly in the 2017 49ers rebuild process is the offensive line.
There have been a few additions, but the starting lineup from last year is mostly intact. This is not a, as you could say, comforting development. But considering the what could be done across the board, there is something to work with here.
Kyle Shanahan likes his O-line to be nimble and smart on the second level. With this scheme, the lineman need to be able to move in open space and make blocks in a developing play off play-action approaches and the edge run, picking up linebackers and safeties surging to the edge.
49ers Offensive Line
Starting left tackle and All-Pro Joe Staley exemplifies this and serves as the prime example of what the 49ers want from their big men on the line of scrimmage. Staley is in the twilight of his career and should retire in the next few years, so an influx of talent at these positions is something we can expect in coming seasons.
This year’s draft was not flush with candidates on the O-line, so the 49ers used their capital at other areas of need that were far more lucrative. That said, San Francisco did add depth in free agency and with undrafted free agents.
After Staley the left guard position is occupied by Zane Beadles, a free-agent acquisition from last year that is serviceable and mobile enough to implement Shanahan’s blocking scheme like he did in Denver when he was selected to the Pro Bowl.
The center position is manned by Daniel Kilgore, a player that has earned his place with the 49ers over the past seven years and has done well when he was not injured. The center position was addressed in free agency by the acquisition of Jeremy Zuttah, a Pro Bowl center from last year’s Baltimore Ravens. His addition will play out in camp, but the depth is there with Zuttah’s ability to play guard as well.
At right guard, Joshua Garnett is attempting to prove why the 49ers traded back into the first round last year to get him. At Stanford Garnett earned numerous All-American honors and the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top interior lineman. Considered a very aggressive blocker in college, we wait to see if that all translates to Shanahan’s system.
Right tackle is a grand question with seventh-round selection Trent Brown gaining accolades last year with his raw talent and size. The big knock on Brown is his size and ability to move in space in this scheme.
With the addition of restricted free agent, tackle Garry Gilliam from the Seattle Seahawks, the 49ers accomplished several things. First, they subtracted from a division rival at an area of need for their opponent. Seattle was forced to address this loss in the draft even more so than they were going to, with their already weak offensive line in a draft that was not very deep at the position. Second, they gained extensive scheme knowledge from their rival that Gilliam can provide as a former starter.
Gilliam did not fit well into Seattle’s power-run scheme but could suit better and add depth behind Brown in Shanahan’s. Even if Gilliam never plays a snap, it was a shrewd move coming from a team with all the excess cap space the Niners own.
Center Tim Barnes and guard Brandon Fusco were added as veteran depth in free agency after the draft, as well as several undrafted free agents.
The O-line is definitely a work in progress and could prove to be a focal point next year with a strong free-agency and draft class. The same could be said about the 49ers quarterback roster.
49ers Quarterbacks
Brian Hoyer was brought in this year to captain the offense, he is not a top-tier candidate or flashy by any sense of the word. But his ability to run Shanahan’s offense is why he is here.
Hoyer and the second QB addition, Matt Barkley, both are very good play-action passers and very proficient selling the play and making a throw on the run. This is very good for the running game.
Third-round selection C.J. Betheard fits this same mold. These three QBs are not prolific deep-ball passers. They are, however, players who can read defenses and sell something other than what is coming. They can be extremely accurate on the short to medium routes, demanding space for runners around the edge and out of the play action.
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All of this should prove to be the nucleus of Shanahan’s first-year offense during the ground up rebuild that we are witnessing. I do not expect the high-flying offense that we saw last year in Atlanta.
This will be a get the first down and kill you with speed and variability style team that starts with the new running game.
Next: Niner Noise's Jonah Burros 1 on 1 with Ronbo Sports
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