4 needs 49ers initially must address in 2022 NFL Draft
By Peter Panacy
49ers Need No. 2: Interior Offensive Line
The Niners invested a lot in their offensive line during the offseason, re-signing left tackle Trent Williams before inking veteran Alex Mack, then using two draft picks to grab offensive guard Aaron Banks and offensive tackle Jaylon Moore in Rounds 2 and 5, respectively.
One of the potential budding problems, though, has been Banks’ slow development from training camp through Week 1 of the preseason before suffering a shoulder injury that kept him out until the regular season kicks off.
Banks is going to start 2021 as a backup to right guard Daniel Brunskill. That’s already a disappointment, as second-round picks are supposed to be high-profile contributors to some degree.
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Yet an arguably more concerning problem is left guard Laken Tomlinson being a free agent next year. With San Francisco facing some notable extensions for some of its younger talent, retaining Tomlinson might not be in the cards for 2022.
Fortunately, there appears to be a lot of quality interior linemen in the middle rounds of next year’s draft:
- Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa
- Kenyon Green, Texas A&M
- Darian Kinnard, Kentucky
- Ed Ingram, LSU
- Tyrese Robinson, Oklahoma