49ers roster: Aaron Banks in ‘sink or swim’ territory for 2022
By Peter Panacy
Why Aaron Banks continues to flame out for 49ers
More frequent than not, first- and second-round picks either show they’re going to be bona fide contributors to an NFL team fairly quickly out of the gate or not at all, so the fact Aaron Banks was so underwhelming his rookie season isn’t exactly a good endorsement.
Since Banks suffered a preseason injury in Week 1 of the exhibition phase last year and only had five regular-season offensive snaps, there isn’t exactly a lot of pro-level film on him to evaluate whether or not he’ll take a massive stride in 2022.
His NFL.com draft profile from last year does suggest some weaknesses that could prove to be problematic for a zone-style fit:
- More weight-room strong than quick-twitch explosive.
- Leans into contact, leaving his feet behind.
- Heavy legged in space.
- Physically unable to make adjustments in attempting to block moving targets.
- Waist-bender as drive blocker.
- Will have issues protecting gaps with lateral slide quickness.
Read More: What’s the 49ers plan for Aaron Banks in 2022?
Again, Shanahan isn’t exclusively using zone concepts anymore, but it’s still theoretically possible Banks flops in this kind of hybrid system.
Not unlike what former Niners guard Joshua Garnett experienced under Shanahan back in 2017 and early 2018.