49ers’ 2019 ‘Who Is?’ series: Offensive guard Joshua Garnett

2019 might be the final chance for offensive guard Joshua Garnett with the San Francisco 49ers, as his first-round pedigree hasn’t come close to delivering expected results.

Let’s just say things haven’t gone so well for San Francisco 49ers offensive guard Joshua Garnett after being selected in the tail end of Round 1 in the 2016 NFL Draft.

His rookie year wasn’t particularly impressive. In fairness to Garnett, few on that 2-14 team’s roster were impressive, so one might be inclined to give the former Stanford standout a bit of a pass.

When head coach Kyle Shanahan took over in 2017, however, Garnett’s future with the squad took a massive hit after he suffered a knee injury that sent him to injured reserve, forcing him to miss the entire year. Re-injuring the same knee early in 2018 didn’t help matters either, and he eventually lost the starting job in training camp to perennial journeyman lineman Mike Person for right guard.

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Garnett managed to hang around as a reserve option last year, getting into seven games in 2018 as a backup to both Person and left guard Laken Tomlinson.

Yet the future appears clear for Garnett, as the Niners re-signed Person to a three-year deal during the offseason, while declining to pick up Garnett’s fifth-year option.

If Garnett somehow manages to stick around into the regular season, potentially beyond, what will he have to do?

Niner Noise’s “Who Is?” series takes a deeper look.

Why Joshua Garnett Improves in 2019

Garnett made attempts to cut down on his weight a year ago, and he’s currently weighing in at 305 pounds — five pounds heavier than his prime competition, Person.

Now in his third year under Shanahan, Garnett could be able to finally master the nuances of an outside-zone blocking scheme. Garnett was more of a power-run mauler at Stanford. So, for some improvement to be seen, the former Outland Trophy recipient would need to display the agility and lateral movement necessary to thrive in Shanahan’s system.

Showcasing some serious improvement in pass protection would do Garnett wonders, too, as that was also one of his weaknesses in college and during his one-year stint as a starter with the 49ers.

Oh, and it would help to stay healthy.

Why Joshua Garnett Regresses

It’s hard to say Garnett’s stock level could get any lower than it was entering 2018. That said, the Niners did hold onto him as a primary reserve throughout the regular season, even though they had other options available.

But it’s entirely possible to assume Garnett simply isn’t a fit for Shanahan’s offense, and the Stanford product might not ever be a quality pass protector. If Garnett fails to impress during training camp against what looks to be an upgraded San Francisco pass rush, that won’t bode well to his future with the squad.

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

It’s going to take a massive effort for Garnett to overtake Person on the depth chart, and it’s highly unlikely that happens. And by not picking up Garnett’s fifth-year option, the Niners would be due just over $1.2 million in dead money with a shade over $1.7 million in cap savings, should they part ways with him between now and Week 1.

Assuming Garnett won’t win the starting job over Person, the former’s primary competition on the 53-man roster would be with interior linemen Erik Magnuson and the undrafted rookie, Iowa’s Ross Reynolds, among a handful of others.

Reynolds might be a player to watch in this competition, as he was one of college football’s better run blockers in 2018 and appears to be a much better zone-style lineman than Garnett.

Should Reynolds win out, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Garnett elsewhere in 2019. As such, he’s heading into training camp on the weaker side of the roster bubble.