Niner Noise
FanSided

San Francisco 49ers: 5 best players in 2018 through Week 7

By Peter Panacy

SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 21: George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers reacts after a play against the Los Angeles Rams during their NFL game at Levi's Stadium on October 21, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 21: George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers reacts after a play against the Los Angeles Rams during their NFL game at Levi's Stadium on October 21, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – AUGUST 25: Mike McGlinchey #69 of the San Francisco 49ers looks on in the second quarter of a preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on August 25, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – AUGUST 25: Mike McGlinchey #69 of the San Francisco 49ers looks on in the second quarter of a preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on August 25, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

No. 3: Offensive Tackle Mike McGlinchey

When it happened, most 49ers fans were probably shocked the team elected to draft Notre Dame offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey at No. 9 overall this year.

Despite San Francisco having plenty of other, bigger needs, McGlinchey is starting to look like he was the right choice.

Just take a look at this from Pro Football Focus:

It doesn’t stop there, however. Also per PFF, McGlinchey leads all NFL tackles with an 87.2 run-blocking grade through Week 7.

Pretty impressive, for sure.

Granted, McGlinchey’s 60.9 PFF pass-blocking grade isn’t great. It wasn’t his strength in college either. But with Kyle Shanahan wanting to get his ground game working well this season, made evident by the success Breida is having in 2018, plugging McGlinchey into the starter’s role is looking like the right choice.