Mike McGlinchey: Why 49ers offensive tackle is a team cornerstone

San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey is the best 2018 NFL Draft choice so far by general manager John Lynch, emerging as a team cornerstone.

Much has been made of the two NFL Drafts conducted thus far by general manager John Lynch. Rightly so. Draft success is the most reliable indicator of the future success of the San Francisco 49ers.

It is also a bit too early to pass certain judgment on either class. Typically a draft cannot be accurately evaluated for three to four years.

Going into the 2018 draft, 49ers fans were clamoring for pass-rush help. As of right now, 49ers fans are still clamoring for pass-rush help. Even so, the fanbase cannot be disappointed with this year’s first-round selection. Starting every game so far, right tackle Mike McGlinchey has already proven to be one of the best players from his draft class. Not just at his position but in the entirety of the draft.

Drafting defensive tackle Solomon Thomas with the third overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft Lynch and Kyle Shanahan had made it clear they intend to build this team from the inside out, following the blueprint of other successful team rebuilds. While Thomas has played out of position, been caught in defensive coordinator Robert Saleh‘s insistence on using an inordinate number of zone blitz packages, which drop Thomas into coverage, he has struggled his first two seasons.

McGlinchey, on the other hand, has consistently been rated as one of the best run-blocking lineman in all of the NFL by Pro Football Focus. The Niners line as a whole has consistently been graded as a top three run-blocking unit in the entire league by PFF.

A testament to the construction of the unit by Lynch and Shanahan and the acumen of 49ers offensive line coach John Benton.

Three-fifths of the 49ers offensive line is entering it’s prime at 27 years old or younger. McGlinchey is the youngest of the unit at 24 years old. If quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is a building’s glamorous architecture that gets it noticed, McGlinchey is the structure’s cornerstone that prevents it from falling over.

The young tackle is the cousin of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, was drafted as a fifth-year senior out of Notre Dame, coming off of a consensus All-American season in which he was team captain. While his linemate in college, guard Quenton Nelson received all the pre-draft attention as a “can’t miss” prospect, McGlinchey was the one who stepped into his team’s starting lineup and immediately made an impact in the NFL.

With Maulers like McGlinchey and Nelson up front, yes, Notre Dame had an elite rushing attack in 2017.

The 49ers lost their starting running back in the preseason. Their second-string running back Matt Breida has been in and out of the lineup battling injuries all season long. The team’s third-string running back, Raheem Mostert, was lost for the season in Week 9. Jeff Wilson Jr. started training camp as the Niners’ sixth-string back. He now is the team’s starter and workhorse. Through all of this, the 49ers still rank eighth in the NFL in rushing yards per game. There is a direct correlation to this ranking and the excellent work McGlinchey and the line have done.

The 49ers have three young bucks on the offensive line all at the beginning of multiyear deals. Left tackle Joe Staley is concluding his 12th season at age 34. The six-time Pro Bowler is having another great season. With Staley’s contract expiring after the 2019 season the team will have to ask itself some hard questions.

Garoppolo is a right-handed QB. McGlinchey played a lot of left tackle for the Fighting Irish in college. A quarterbacks rating drops substantially if he is under pressure, especially from his blind side. While right tackle has gained in importance, recently, teams still traditionally place their best offensive lineman at left tackle. Unless your QB happens to be left-handed then the line is flipped and the right tackle is the crucial position.

Whenever Staley is gone, rather than overpaying for a new free-agent left tackle or taking a chance on a young player in the NFL Draft, it is expected the 49ers move their young stud to his familiar left side.

There is little doubt that this offseason will be the most crucial for Lynch and Shanahan. With little expected over the first two years under contract, their performance hasn’t exactly been evaluated based on wins and losses.

That will not be the case moving forward. Fans and team ownership will now expect the rebuilding effort to be tangible. The 2019 roster will be constructed largely of players hand picked by this regime.

Aside from depth and a possible upgrade at right guard, Lynch and Shanahan can mark the first box on their 49ers reconstruction checklist. They have forged an iron offensive line. Growing in cohesion over time. It appears that Mike McGlinchey is the carbon transforming this unit to steel.