SF 49ers: Picking one 2021 Senior Bowl player for position needs

SF 49ers Offensive Line Need: Quinn Meinerz, Wisconsin-Whitewater

Interior offensive lineman Quinn Meinerz story is the exact reason the Reese’s Senior Bowl exists.

While there are players from all places and backgrounds, Meinerz’s story is the type that truly stands out. Hailing from Division III’s University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the 6-foot-3, 320-pound versatile lineman did not get a chance to play in his senior year due to the pandemic. But it did not stop him from preparing himself for Senior Bowl week.

From his impassioned plea to play at the Senior Bowl despite a broken left hand suffered in practice to his Rocky-like training video in the mountains of Canada, Meinerz is making a name for himself and climbing draft boards in wide receiver D.K. Metcalf-like fashion. He may not have the abs of Metcalf, but Meinerz’s game is rock solid.

What he did during practices last week was special.

His pancake-producing run blocking was surpassed only by dominant pass blocking against the likes of touted pass-rushers Osa Odighizuwa of UCLA and Pitt’s Patrick Jones II.

Meinerz primarily had played guard while at Whitewater but basically trained himself in preperation to also play center and show his versatility. And he did not disappoint. With his performances there in Alabama, he has pushed himself from a late-round pick, at best, to a day-two pick at worst.

With the SF 49ers struggling this past season along the offensive line, Meinerz is just the type of versatile player they could plug in at multiple positions along the offensive line and produce at a high level wherever he plays.