3 burning questions for 49ers offensive line in 2020
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: Can Daniel Brunskill Replicate His Outstanding 2019 Campaign?
The 49ers do have an option in 2021 if Trent Williams departs: place the undrafted and previously unheralded Daniel Brunskill in at tackle.
Brunskill relieved Joe Staley when the latter was dealing with injuries last season, and Brunskill also filled in for Mike Person at right guard, then Mike McGlinchey at right tackle.
In total, Brunskill appeared in 14 games, started seven of them at three various spots and earned a very respectable 73.0 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
Simply put, Brunskill completely exceeded expectations upon him last season. Now, the question is whether or not those efforts were a sign of things to come or a mere anomaly.
Brunskill’s efforts have placed him in prime position to secure the starting right guard spot entering 2020, his primary competition being one of the Niners’ free-agent acquisitions from the offseason, former New York Jets guard Tom Compton. Based solely on last year’s efforts, Brunskill should be one of those hidden-gem finds.
Yet the important question is whether or not he’ll be able to showcase this same kind of effort again after seemingly coming out of nowhere during the second half of last year.