2023 mock NFL Draft 2.0: Fallout from free agency wave and NFL Combine
861. . Offensive Tackle . Cougars . Blake Freeland. 99. player
On the clock: NFL Draft Pick No. 99: San Francisco 49ers – Blake Freeland, Offensive Tackle, BYU
Mock Draft 1.0 – Joe Tippmann, Center, Wisconsin
Mike McGlinchey is gone and the 49ers will be looking to backup Colton McKivitz to take the jump to starter for 2023. The team will need to look at a contingency plan, however, with Blake Freeland a popular mock in this area.
Freeland has prototypical size to be a left tackle at 6-foot-8 and 305 pounds. He could serve as a stopgap at right tackle if needed, with a long-term view to be the replacement for left tackle Trent Williams when the latter decides to retire.
Freeland is on the Day 2/Day 3 bubble, but his work at the combine could make the former more likely now. He’s already a stout run blocker which bodes as a good fit for a Niners team that enforces the run more than any other team in the NFL.
Freeland is raw, however, and the 49ers will need to be patient to bring out the best possible player. His footwork is a bit dicey and he sometimes plays with his pads too high that leads him to be pushed around. He can learn behind the best left tackle in football however, so he has every chance to develop.