49ers roster: 5 players who can replace Laken Tomlinson (if he leaves)

49ers option No. 4: Aaron Banks (on roster)

The year-end reviews of the Niners’ second-round pick from the 2021 NFL Draft, former Notre Dame offensive guard Aaron Banks, were not good.

After floundering in training camp and then suffering a shoulder injury during the preseason, Banks subsequently ended up seeing most of his rookie season from the inactive list, only getting into five offensive starts over the course of the year.

But Banks, who almost exclusively served as a left guard in college, might have been held in reserve as a would-be replacement for Laken Tomlinson, and one could fairly assume San Francisco has been planning for Tomlinson’s departure all along, not forcing Banks into trying to learn an entirely new spot, right guard, for which there was an apparent need heading into 2021.

Banks’ upside was in pass protection at the college level, and this is generally more important on the left side of the O-line than the right.

Now, the 49ers will have had to be pleased with the work Banks put in while not seeing much of the field last season, and his upcoming offseason workouts will be vital, too.

If the Niners are satisfied with those developments already and feel confident Banks will progress a lot between years one and two, their decision on Tomlinson might have already been made.