49ers’ 2019 ‘Who Is?’ series: Offensive tackle Shon Coleman

The San Francisco 49ers brought aboard offensive tackle Shon Coleman in 2018 for depth purposes, and he’ll look to hold onto that role with 2019 just around the corner. But is his roster spot guaranteed?

The San Francisco 49ers didn’t need to use their backup swing tackle, Shon Coleman, after acquiring him from the Cleveland Browns early in 2018 in exchange for a seventh-round NFL Draft pick.

Instead, Coleman was relegated to the weekly inactive list for the Niners after the Sept. 1 deal after starting all 16 regular-season games for the Browns the year before.

Yet Brown has a chance to climb the depth chart this season, perhaps working his way into that primary swing role between San Francisco’s penciled-in offensive tackle starters, Joe Staley and Mike McGlinchey.

It won’t be easy, though. The 49ers added another swing-tackle candidate, Justin Skule, in this year’s NFL Draft. And there are a few depth candidates who could overtake Coleman on the depth chart once training camp begins.

If Coleman wins out, how will he go about doing so? And what will be the reasons behind any improvement or regression?

Niner Noise’s “Who Is?” series takes a deeper look at the 27 year old.

Why Shon Coleman Improves in 2019

A third-round draft pick from 2016, Coleman earned a respectable 74.0 grade his rookie year, per Pro Football Focus, before dropping down to 61.4 with the Browns in 2017. His run blocking was exceptional his rookie season before taking a substantial hit in year two of his pro career, as he allowed six sacks, and Coleman ended up being one of the casualties of Cleveland’s numerous roster shakeups entering 2018.

Entering the prime of his career, it’s feasible to assume Coleman recaptures his pass-blocking prowess from his rookie season, while continuing to be an effective run blocker in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense.

Why Shon Coleman Regresses

The fact Coleman stayed inactive for all 16 games for the 49ers says something, as the Niners gave the primary backup tackle job to Garry Gilliam last season. Gilliam, who is no longer on the roster, at least frees up a better chance for Coleman to secure the job.

But if his pass protection looks more like what it did in 2017 and doesn’t improve, there’s a good chance Coleman is relegated to the fringes of the roster once more.

Plus, San Francisco has recent interest in Skule’s development, and Shanahan indicated he’d like there to be a competition between the two. If Skule wins out, it will be nearly impossible for Coleman to showcase any sort of improvement between now and the regular season.

Chances of Making the 49ers’ 53-Man Roster in 2019

Coleman is squarely on the roster bubble heading into training camp. If the Niners were comfortable with his role, they likely wouldn’t have grabbed Skule in Round 6 of this year’s draft. Added competition is nice, of course, and there should be a budding one between these two during camp.

If Coleman outperforms Skule during training camp and the preseason, he’ll all but secure the spot left vacant by Gilliam and should be a lock to make the 53-man roster.

If not, however, it wouldn’t be shocking to see San Francisco move on and promote Skule into one of these primary backup spots.

Based off this, one should assume Coleman has about a 50-50 shot of making the cut once the final roster is announced this September.

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