49ers 2019 NFL Draft prospect profile: Offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor

The San Francisco 49ers aren’t going to select an offensive tackle first again in the NFL Draft, right? Well, shockers have happened before, so let’s look at Florida’s Jawaan Taylor.

A year ago in the 2018 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers made a shocking move and elected to grab former Notre Dame offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey with their first pick.

It wasn’t seen as a need at the time. But after moving former starting right tackle Trent Brown to the New England Patriots a day later, grabbing McGlinchey more than made sense.

So, with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, would the Niners do something similar?

Simply put, no. But if general manager John Lynch trades down from the No. 2 spot, the move would open up a wide array of possibilities.

One of them includes grabbing Florida offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor.

The 6-foot-5, 312-pound Taylor has risen up big boards and could arguably be the first offensive tackle taken in this year’s NFL Draft, perhaps overtaking the previously No. 1-ranked tackle, Alabama’s Jonah Williams, on many a draft chart.

If the Niners were to make such an out-of-the-box move, what kind of player would they be getting. And why would they do so in the first place?

Let’s break the prospect down.

Jawaan Taylor’s Strengths

Outside of posting 24 reps on the 225-pound bench press, Taylor didn’t participate in any other measurable drills at the NFL Scouting Combine. He did look sharp in blocking drills, however, but that’s already been established on film:

Taylor primarily saw time at right tackle at Florida, including 12 of 13 games his 2018 junior season.

From CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson:

"Taylor shows a consistent anchor, good footwork and rarely gets caught overextending in his pass sets. He’s also a dominant run blocker who displays good hand usage and long arms."

That footwork and movement, especially in run blocking, could help him gain attention from the 49ers, who targeted McGlinchey for these same traits.

Jawaan Taylor’s Weaknesses

Like McGlinchey, Taylor isn’t quite a finished product in pass protection. While his mobility skills are there, Taylor can be overworked with bull-rush moves, and he’ll need to add some functional strength to ensure that won’t become a problem.

The good thing, though, is Taylor’s recovery skills are solid enough. It shouldn’t be a massive liability out of the gate.

Speaking of that functional strength, Taylor has had issues with weight in the past. Converting this to muscle could be a challenge, especially against some faster pass-rushers at the NFL level.

And while he’s more than adept handling zone-blocking techniques, the issues he has with allowing lanes to the inside suggest this could be a problem for outside-zone schemes.

How He’d Fit with the 49ers

The Niners spent considerable effort revamping their offensive line in 2018, including McGlinchey. As of now, there’s no real need to make such a move. But with veteran left tackle Joe Staley reaching the end of his career (he’ll also be a free agent in 2020), there’s always the chance San Francisco looks to solidify its line now instead of later.

A slight chance, yes. But if it does happen, the 49ers would probably look to move McGlinchey over to the left side of the line. Taylor would occupy McGlinchey’s former spot, at least in theory.

As far as the fit goes, head coach Kyle Shanahan would prefer a big and mobile prospect, who has good footwork and the ability to thrive in bootlegs and misdirection blocks.

Taylor has shown the ability to do that.

That said, one shouldn’t read into any of this speculation as reason enough San Francisco targets Taylor with a Round 1 pick. Last year made some sense. It wouldn’t in 2019.

The 2019 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday, April 25.