San Francisco 49ers: Who is center Daniel Kilgore?
By Peter Panacy
Niner Noise’s “Who Is?” series on San Francisco 49ers players in 2017 shifts focus to the offensive line and takes a look at center Daniel Kilgore and his chances to retain a starting job this season.
On one hand, San Francisco 49ers center Daniel Kilgore was one of the best offensive linemen the team had in 2016.
Yet on the other, Kilgore’s less-than-stellar injury history makes him a liability.
Pro Football Focus handed the 29-year-old Kilgore a 72.8 overall grade last season, which was second best along the Niners’ offensive line behind left tackle Joe Staley (81.4). Kilgore’s grade certainly isn’t a bad mark.
San Francisco 49ers
But the injury history is a different worry altogether.
Kilgore has missed a total of 23 games since taking over starting duties in 2014. Sure, the injuries are varied, but it’s pretty safe to categorize the veteran center as someone expected not to fill out an entire year in a starting role.
This is probably a reason general manager John Lynch made a move to land 2016 Pro Bowl center Jeremy Zuttah via a trade with the Baltimore Ravens.
The center position is of integral importance to head coach Kyle Shanahan’s outside-zone blocking scheme. And with Zuttah now in camp, it’s safe to assume Kilgore is on the hot seat for a starting job.
So what should we expect this season?
Why He’ll Improve
It would be nice to see Kilgore play a full season with a clean bill of health. That’s something eluding Kilgore over his six-year career.
Yet one of the major bonuses for Kilgore’s game is an effective run-blocking ability. This was a major weakness for San Francisco’s O-line last year, although look for Shanahan’s offense to make some notable changes to the scheme here.
It’s possible Kilgore winds up being one of the beneficiaries of this change. Yet he’ll have to beat out Zuttah to earn that role.
Speaking of competition, Kilgore does have the added bonus of doubling as a guard. Last year’s 49ers starters here, Zane Beadles and Joshua Garnett, didn’t exactly have the best campaigns for San Francisco. So it’s perfectly possible to assume Kilgore bumps out to one of these two guard spots if he loses the competition at center.
Why He’ll Regress
Kilgore has two major things working against him. The injury worry is obviously one, although the 49ers won’t have to worry about backing Kilgore up with an ineffective Marcus Martin anymore.
Still, Kilgore is already behind Zuttah on the depth chart. After all, the latter has the luxury of being the hand-picked player at this crucial position in Shanahan’s offense. Zuttah addresses both a scheme fit and has a cleaner bill of health to back it up.
Kilgore doesn’t have to just worry about Zuttah either. The Niners also added veteran center Tim Barnes via free agency this offseason.
While Barnes is a bigger long shot to start at center, he could at least challenge Kilgore for a roster spot on the depth chart.
There’s also the real possibility Kilgore struggles to adjust to Shanahan’s outside-zone scheme. It’s hard to say as of yet, but we have to leave it open for suggestion.
What to Expect in 2017
In all likelihood, Zuttah wins the starting center job outright. And it will be for all the reasons suggested earlier — being picked by Lynch and Co., better reliability, a Pro Bowl accolade, etc.
The subsequent question then revolves around the 49ers’ plans with Kilgore in 2017 and beyond.
More from Niner Noise
- 49ers 2023 NFL Draft tracker: Pick-by-pick news and analysis
- Predicting 49ers NFL Draft picks by looking at final mocks
- DraftKings NFL Draft Promo – Win $150 Guaranteed on Any $5 Bet
- 2023 NFL Draft: EDGE Byron Young could be impact player for 49ers
- 5 low-key NFL Draft options for 49ers who are flying under the radar
It wouldn’t be a bad idea, necessarily, to move Kilgore to the left guard spot over Beadles. Beadles’ 2016 run blocking was pretty atrocious, while Kilgore’s was notably better. Paired with Staley, the Niners would have a strong side to run the ball.
So it wouldn’t be a shock to see Kilgore move to this position in Week 1.
Yet it’s equally as possible to see San Francisco keep Kilgore relegated strictly to a backup role for all three interior positions.
Next: Predicting 5 bubble-watch players who make 49ers 2017 roster
Either way, Kilgore’s chances to make the roster this season look pretty good even if he’s not the best candidate to start at his previous position.