4 former players SF 49ers wish were on current roster
By Peter Panacy
No. 4: Former SF 49ers Offensive Guard Mike Iupati
Perhaps this list could focus on the SF 49ers offensive line alone, and that might be reason enough to allow Kyle Shanahan to feel somewhat better about his team’s chances over the rest of 2020.
Putting things bluntly, the Niners O-line has been awful this season despite adding perennial Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams and getting further development from former first-round NFL Draft picks, left guard Laken Tomlinson and right tackle Mike McGlinchey.
Still, the net result to date has provided the league’s 23rd best pass-blocking unit and 31st best run-blocking group, according to Football Outsiders.
Hardly the make of a playoff-caliber unit.
There’s an argument for various upgrades here, but one needing a lot of attention is right guard, which is currently occupied by last year’s fill-in hero, Daniel Brunskill.
Five weeks of action have shown Brunskill is best served as a backup, not a full-time starter, and San Francisco might be wishing it somehow retained the services of its former first-round pick from the 2010 draft, current Seattle Seahawks guard Mike Iupati.
After the SF 49ers let him walk in free agency back in 2015, Iupati joined the Arizona Cardinals before linking up with Seattle in 2019. To date, according to Pro Football Focus, Iupati has allowed zero sacks, just one quarterback hit and owns a solid 70.9 overall grade.
In contrast, Brunskill’s PFF grade is 59.3.