49ers’ 2018 ‘Who Is?’ series: Offensive lineman Najee Toran
By Peter Panacy
Niner Noise’s 2018 “Who Is?” series on San Francisco 49ers players takes a look at rookie offensive lineman Najee Toran and his chances to make the 53-man roster this season.
The San Francisco 49ers underwent a massive overhaul along their offensive line this offseason, changing out four of five Week 1 starters from a year ago.
Equally important to establishing top-quality starters is finding adequate and flexible depth. One of those moves, grabbing former UCLA offensive lineman Najee Toran as an undrafted free agent, could wind up paying off in the long run.
Toran, 6-foot-2 and 305 pounds, started off his collegiate career as a backup defensive lineman before being asked to move to the offensive side of the ball.
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 7/9/2018.
He emerged into a starter his junior year, although the above Sports Reference table doesn’t include this. And while he has to be considered a long shot to make the 49ers’ 53-man roster in 2018, there’s always the possibility he develops into a quality depth piece capable of manning a number of interior positions in coming years.
Why Najee Toran Improves in 2018
There isn’t a lot on Toran, as far as scouting info. But we can gauge the overall effectiveness of UCLA’s offensive line a year ago. Football Outsiders showed the Bruins’ O-line pretty effective in adjusted sack rate (149.5 — 20th best of ranked schools) last season, and it seems as if Toran was equally solid in pass protection guarding quarterback Josh Rosen.
Looking at Toran’s frame, it’s likely he projects as an interior lineman. Mike Regalado of Go Joe Bruin suggested Toran could develop into a center, where the Niners don’t quite have as much depth behind presumed starter, Weston Richburg.
If Toran can capitalize on his apparent above-average pass-protection skills, there might be an effort to work him in on San Francisco’s second-team unit this preseason.
And the extra looks from the coaching staff always help.
Why He Regresses
UCLA’s O-line wasn’t particularly great in run support last year, and improving their own run-blocking abilities seemed to be at the heart of the 49ers’ O-line changes this offseason.
Toran’s run-blocking abilities are suspect, which will hurt his chances. Same goes with his 5.40 40-yard time he ran at his pro day. Offensive linemen typically want to be between 5.0 and 5.25 in this category, and head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense calls for faster, more nimble linemen to operate in his outside-zone scheme.
It doesn’t appear as if Toran would excel in this kind of work, particularly in run support, which will ultimately hurt his chances.
San Francisco 49ers
Chances of Making the 49ers’ 53-Man Roster in 2018
As stated, Toran is a long shot. But he certainly would be a candidate for the practice squad, and more than a few O-lineman have developed here to earn significant roles on the active roster. Case in point, the Niners had former Western Kentucky offensive lineman Darrell Williams Jr. on the practice squad to start 2017, eventually promoting him to the active roster last November.
Toran could be headed towards the same trajectory, particularly if he’s able to flash some improvements in his run blocking.
What likely winds up being the case is Toran seeing some time with the third-string O-line, which will get some action in the late stages of preseason games and a lot more time in the final exhibition contest of 2018.
That’ll probably be the last we see of Toran this season, though. At best, Toran winds up being one of the 10 players selected to San Francisco’s practice squad, where he can hone his skills and work his way up to being an NFL-level backup down the road.
Next: Predicting 49ers' 5 most surprising roster cuts of 2018
Just don’t expect it to happen this season.