SF 49ers: 3 players who should be benched after Week 10 loss to Saints
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: SF 49ers Offensive Guard Tom Compton
It was pretty apparent in training camp SF 49ers veteran guard Tom Compton wasn’t going to be a viable piece to the offensive line this season.
But injuries and necessity forced Compton into the starting lineup the last two weeks, thanks largely to injuries at center — Weston Richburg (knee) and Ben Garland (calf) — and a lackluster showing from reserve center Hroniss Grasu, forcing Kyle Shanahan to move starting right guard Daniel Brunskill into this center spot.
Thereby putting Compton in by default.
The results haven’t been overly pretty, as the interior of San Francisco’s offensive line was completely disjointed against the Green Bay Packers in Week 9, then again in Week 10 against the Saints. The SF 49ers were unable to generate any sort of interior pull, while quarterback Nick Mullens was under regular pressure, both from the interior and off the edges.
Compton, who wasn’t credited by Pro Football Focus for giving up any of the two sacks Mullens took, still was responsible for pressures and had his share of difficulty communicating with both Brunskill and right tackle Mike McGlinchey.
At this point, keeping Compton in the starting lineup offers essentially nothing. It might be wiser to insert one of the Niners’ younger offensive linemen, perhaps looking at moving Justin Skule from tackle to guard or seeing if the rookie, Colton McKivitz, has some developmental merit.