49ers’ 2019 ‘Who Is?’ series: Offensive lineman Erik Magnuson

The San Francisco 49ers’ versatile offensive lineman, Erik Magnuson, showed a lot of promise early in 2018 before falling out of favor. What does his future hold for 2019?

A year ago at this time, the San Francisco 49ers were grooming former undrafted Michigan offensive lineman Erik Magnuson for an increased and versatile role along the offensive line. He flirted with a number of different positions during the preseason his rookie year, yet there looked to be a higher level of expectation in 2018.

Magnuson received his increased role, starting in place of an injured center, Weston Richburg, in Week 8 against the Arizona Cardinals.

With one bad snap at the end of the game, however, Magnuson appeared to quickly fall out of favor with head coach Kyle Shanahan and his staff.

Magnuson never saw another snap that season, spending all  but two of the Niners’ remaining regular-season games on the inactive list.

Not exactly a promising indication of what could face him in 2019.

Granted, San Francisco didn’t make a lot of splash moves along its O-line during the offseason. But there are a number of added depth players now — all of whom will hinder Magnuson’s chances to stick around with the 49ers into the regular season.

So, will he make the cut?

Why Erik Magnuson Improves in 2019

The Niners appeared to like Magnuson enough to give him primary interior reps during both the 2018 preseason and as a backup during the regular season. He has spent time at all three interior spots, as well as at right tackle, which boosts his stock value a bit, too.

Granted, the bad snap hurt his chances moving forward. But it’s hard to suggest it completely ruined Magnuson’s future with the team.

It’s possible Magnuson was thrust into a prominent role too soon, therefore warranting placement on the inactive list. To his credit, the 49ers didn’t waive him for a possible fear of another team making a claim.

Perhaps a bigger chance is coming this training camp instead.

Why Erik Magnuson Regresses

Magnuson scantly saw the field in 2018 aside from his lone start, which didn’t go well outside of the bad snap, either.

During that game, per Pro Football Focus, Magnuson also allowed a sack and finished with a paltry 29.1 pass-blocking grade.

And it isn’t as if the Cardinals defense is top tier.

While San Francisco kept him on the 53-man roster for the rest of the season, his 2018 issues could have easily prompted Shanahan and Co. to make a number of interior additions to the O-line during the offseason. Any one of those players could push Magnuson down the pecking order, and it’s hard to improve when you’re not catching the eyes of the coaching staff often.

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

Well, they’re much worse than they were a year ago this time.

The Niners added a number of interior linemen during the offseason, including former Atlanta Falcons backup center Ben Garland, who has been seeing first-team reps during offseason workouts, while Richburg recovers from his knee surgery. Right now, it would appear Garland’s stock is higher than that of Magnuson.

Similarly, the 49ers picked up former Iowa guard Ross Reynolds as an undrafted free agent, and he has more than enough promise to hang around into the regular season, too.

Those are just two names. There are others who may usurp Magnuson on the depth chart.

In 2018, Magnuson was safely on the stronger side of the bubble, which was enough to make the cut. Heading into this season, however, it’s looking as if he’s on the weaker side.

And that doesn’t bode well for a player who seemed to have a lot of promise a year ago.