49ers depth chart: 4 position battles to watch during OTAs
By Peter Panacy
49ers OTA Battle No. 3: Offensive line scheme fits, movement skills
It’s also pretty hard to gauge just how effective an offensive line will be during OTAs, as the lack of pads and actual blocking won’t become a theme until training camp kicks off.
Plus, with San Francisco having a number of established veteran linemen, such as left tackle Trent Williams and center Alex Mack, the real battle along the O-line will center more on the immediate reserves with a little more attention given to right guard.
There, the 49ers are looking to insert their second-round draft pick, Aaron Banks, which likely pushes uber-lineman Daniel Brunskill back into a primary reserve role. Banks was more of a power-run blocker at Notre Dame, though, so it’ll be interesting to see how his scheme fit translates over into Kyle Shanahan’s outside-zone system.
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With physical blocking being less of a focal point during OTAs, Banks’ movement abilities will be more of a primary focus.
Yet there are plenty of other depth battles to watch here, too. Can fifth-round rookie Jaylon Moore upend reserve linemen like Tom Compton, Justin Skule, Colton McKivitz or even Shon Coleman? Moore is viewed as a more natural zone-style lineman, so perhaps he has a bit of an advantage there.
More importantly, if a player like Moore flashes that scheme fit, he could find himself quickly working with the second-team unit by the end of OTAs.