49ers depth chart: 3 players who benefit from Justin Skule injury

No. 1: 49ers OL Colton McKivitz

In many ways, the Niners drafting Jaylon Moore was a direct indictment against their confidence in returning linemen like Justin Skule and Colton McKivitz, both of whom have had flashes of promise but haven’t come anywhere close to displaying the needed consistency to be reliable backups.

In McKivitz’s case, there’s a bit of an explanation.

San Francisco 49ers

Last year, due to the pandemic, all teams were forced to cancel their offseason workouts, including OTAs, and perform them remotely. While studying film and talking theory can help, nothing replicates the muscle memory from actually performing this job on the field. Particularly in Kyle Shanahan’s complex offensive system.

As a result, McKivitz certainly looked out of place for the good bulk of his 301 offensive snaps his rookie season, and it was more than understandable why San Francisco would be considering an upgrade or additional reinforcements.

Hence the drafting of Moore.

But with the depth chart now thinned out because of Skule’s injury, McKivitz now works his way back up. And just like Moore, a collegiate tackle transitioned into a guard, McKivitz has the added bonus of being able to play multiple positions along the offensive line.

Whether or not he capitalizes on the opportunity is anyone’s guess, but at least he has the versatility to present a bit more value.

And that opportunity would have been tougher to grasp if Skule hadn’t been injured.