Predicting 49ers 53-man roster just before final roster cuts

Offensive Line (8): T Joe Staley*, G Laken Tomlinson*, C Weston Richburg*, G Mike Person*, T Mike McGlinchey*, C/G Ben Garland*, G Najee Toran*, T Justin Skule*

The starting unit for this group is unchanged from last season, and it feels likely that level of continuity will be helpful moving into 2019. The reserves here, however, inspire very little confidence across the board.

Admittedly, other than Ben Garland, who looked good as the starting center in Week 3 of the preseason in Kansas City, which names actually survive the cuts to the final roster remain slightly uncertain.

So instead of guard Najee Toran, it could be fellow undrafted free-agent Ross Reynolds in the fold, or maybe second-year lineman Andrew Lauderdale, all of whom, Toran included, who featured heavily in Thursday night’s game.

As for the swing tackle position, after the loss of Shon Coleman just a few snaps into the preseason against Dallas, my thought was that the man the 49ers signed to replace him on the roster, former Miami Dolphin tackle Sam Young, would be able to take that slot,

Turns out I was wrong, since Young was among the first run of cuts the 49ers made on Friday.

That essentially leaves the job up to rookie sixth-round draft pick Justin Skule out of Vanderbilt, who appeared to struggle at times throughout the preseason. If the move is mostly to secure that Skule will be around through the season so the 49ers can develop him, that part seems fine; the problem is he’s also the next man up if either Joe Staley or Mike McGlinchey get hurt.

Alternatively, the team could be hoping to grab another tackle on waivers once cuts come out, leaving them to release Skule and hopefully bring him back for the practice squad.