49ers roster: Predicting who makes the 2021 offensive line cut

49ers 2021 Offensive Line 53-Man Roster Predictions

If there’s a positive note, effectively all but one of San Francisco’s starting offensive line spots was set by the time training camp rolled around, the lone exception being who started at right guard between Daniel Brunskill and Aaron Banks.

Banks’ recent injury, paired with some struggles both in camp and his preseason action, essentially makes Brunskill the starter here now.

But Banks will make the 53-man roster, barring a complication with his injury that would potentially lead to an injured-reserve designation.

San Francisco 49ers

49ers O-Line Roster Predictions

Assuming the 49ers keep nine offensive linemen to start the season, this probably makes the most sense with the starters listed in bold:

• Trent Williams
• Laken Tomlinson
• Alex Mack
• Daniel Brunskill
• Mike McGlinchey
• Aaron Banks
• Jaylon Moore
• Jake Brendel
• Tom Compton

Brendel probably wouldn’t have gotten the nod if Banks won out the competition of Brunskill, who’d then revert to an uber-backup capable of supporting all five positions. But Kyle Shanahan has a tendency of not rotating his O-linemen when one player goes down with an injury, citing the desire not to downgrade at multiple spots in the wake of one player being absent.

There’s also likely a need to keep Compton on the roster, too, especially with Banks likely needing some additional time to recover into the regular season.

Compton wins out over players like Senio Kelemete and Shon Coleman, given the former played last year and is more recently acclimated with Shanahan’s offense than the other two options.

If the Niners have to rely on Compton a lot this year, they’ll be in trouble. But as a stopgap fill-in option, there are few other likable choices available that make sense.

Either way, the subsequent wave of roster cuts to get teams down to 80 players will be on Tuesday, Aug. 24, and that might paint a clearer picture of how San Francisco’s O-line will take shape.