San Francisco 49ers: Predicting 5 surprises for 53-man roster
By Peter Panacy
No. 4: Ross Reynolds beats out Tom Compton for 49ers guard depth
A year ago during camp, the undrafted rookie, Ross Reynolds out of Iowa, was looking to be one of the better up-and-coming linemen the 49ers had targeted after the 2019 NFL Draft. Reynolds, particularly in run support, had an element to his game seemingly built for Kyle Shanahan’s system.
The only problem was Reynolds failed to make the 53-man cut and was placed on the practice squad, allowing the Niners to develop another unheralded addition, former Alliance of American Football lineman Daniel Brunskill.
Brunskill seems to be the favorite to replace now-retired lineman Mike Person at right guard, yet the 49ers also inked former New York Jets guard Tom Compton on a one-year deal to compete here.
Speculation could be the loser of the Brunskill-Compton training camp bout winds up being the primary No. 2 interior backup. Yet considering Reynolds is a much cheaper option, is younger and has a lot more prowess to still develop, it wouldn’t be shocking if San Francisco elected to go with its second-year pro instead of the older, mere-journeyman Compton.
If that’s the case and Reynolds makes it, expect Compton to be looking for employment elsewhere before Week 1.