5 biggest surprises from 49ers initial 2019 53-man roster

No. 5: OL Daniel Brunskill makes the roster

The adding of offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill isn’t surprising because he played poorly during the preseason or training camp. It’s because I don’t recall hearing a single bit of chatter about him from beat writers during practice, and I don’t remember a single play — good, bad or otherwise — he made during any preseason game.

Granted, some of this could be because he’s an offensive lineman, and those guys generally only get noticed for either doing something wrong, like a penalty or missed block. Or for doing something incredible, like a massive block to spring a touchdown.

Quite frankly, I don’t recall Brunskill doing either of those noticeable things.

One one hand, that’s good, because it means he didn’t commit any egregious penalties or miss an assignment that anyone would have noticed while watching the game.

On the other hand, it means his making the roster is a pretty big surprise.

Brunskill was signed back in April after the AAF disbanded, after spending two seasons on the Atlanta Falcons practice squad starting in 2017. His time there would suggest he’s got some of the measurables and skills Kyle Shanahan is looking for, given that the Falcons maintained some of their former offensive coordinator’s concepts once then-new-OC Steve Sarkisian took over.

The former undrafted free agent out of San Diego State converted to tackle from tight end in college, so he has the requisite athleticism Shanahan will be looking for as an interior guard, where he moved once he reached the NFL.

The fact of the matter is Brunskill is the second interior option off the bench, since fellow former Falcon Ben Garland figures to be the top guy if anything happens to the starters at either guard or center.

In the meantime, hopefully the practice reps will allow Brunskill to continue to hone his craft along the interior offensive line. But this is definitely one of those roster choices that would probably seem less surprising from the inside rather than where I stand.