Offensive line prospects 49ers could target

The 49ers need at least one offensive lineman, maybe two.

They need a guard, because starting right guard Mike Person is a free agent this year. And they also may need an offensive tackle, because starting left tackle Joe Staley will be a free agent in 2020.

The 49ers wouldn’t have needed an offensive tackle had they kept Trent Brown. But general manager John Lynch traded Brown and a ?fifth-round pick to the New England Patriots for a third-round pick last year, a pick Lynch spent on a cornerback - Tarvarius Moore.

Now, the 49ers have just one offensive tackle under contract through 2020 - right tackle Mike MgGlinchey. Lynch would be wise to find a second offensive tackle for the future, plus a starting guard for the present.

This is the second installment of a four-part series breaking down the prospects Lynch may watch most carefully at the upcoming NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, which starts Tuesday. This installment focuses on offensive linemen.

Andre Dillard, Washington State

A full-time starter at left tackle the past three seasons. Dillard was first-team All-Pac-12 and third-team All-American in 2018. He’s one of the best offensive tackles who will attend the combine, and he specializes in pass protection, one of the 49ers’ biggest weaknesses. Last season, they gave up 48 sacks (ninth most in the NFL) and 125 quarterback hits (second most).

In January, Dillard went to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama and played for the South team, which Kyle Shanahan coached. Dillard excelled as Shanahan’s starting left tackle. Here’s what the Athletic’s Bruce Feldman wrote from Mobile about Dillard: “He’s expected to be a first-round pick. And Clay McGuire, his old coach, thinks he may run the 40 in the 4.8s.”

That would be an extremely fast time for a 300-pound man. For comparison, Joe Staley ran a 4.78-second 40-yard dash at the 2007 combine. The 49ers drafted him with the 28th pick.

Staley (6-foot-6) is an inch taller than Dillard (6-foot-5) and a better run blocker. Staley fits any scheme. Dillard does not. He lacks size, power and strength, meaning he would be a liability in the run game unless he’s on a team that uses the outside-zone blocking scheme most of the time. A team such as the 49ers.

If Dillard is available at the beginning of the second round when the 49ers make their pick - they pick fourth - they can take him and play him at guard his rookie season, then move him to left tackle in 2020 if Staley leaves as a free agent or retires.

Greg Little, Ole Miss

Started 29 games at left tackle before declaring for the draft after his junior season.

Little is not little. He’s gigantic - 6-foot-6, 325 pounds. But he moves like a much smaller man. Has quick feet in pass protection, and the potential to become a terrific outside-zone blocker in the run game, even though Ole Miss rarely used the outside zone.

Little was first-team All-SEC in 2018, but scouts question his strength and tenacity. Some even called him lazy on the field. Most agree he’s a project who could need a year to develop into a starting left tackle in the NFL. For those reasons, the extremely talented Little could fall to the 49ers in the second round. If he falls, the 49ers could take him and move him to guard for a season, just as they could with Dillard.

Chris Lindstrom, ?Boston College

Started 36 games at right guard and 11 games at right tackle during his college career. Scouts feels Lindstrom can play either position, as well as center, in the pros.

Lindstrom attended the Senior Bowl and played for the North team under Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. Lindstrom started at right guard - the position he’s most comfortable playing. He most likely will get drafted near the end of the second round or the beginning of the third round, when the 49ers will make their third pick. They choose third in the third round.

If Lindstrom falls to the 49ers in Round 3, he can replace Mike Person at right guard right away, and stay at that position long term. Lindstrom doesn’t have the ability to play left tackle.

Connor McGovern, ?Penn State

McGovern did not attend the Senior Bowl - he was a junior in 2018. Which means the 49ers’ coaches haven’t seen him in person yet. They’ll see him at the combine.

And they’ll find McGovern is huge for an interior offensive lineman. He’s 6-foot-5, 323 pounds, much bigger than the rest of the 49ers’ offensive linemen, who mostly weigh between 300 and 310 pounds.

McGovern would give the 49ers a powerful blocker they could run behind when they’re near the goal line. The 49ers don’t have a player like that, which is one reason they scored only five rushing touchdowns inside their opponents’ 10-yard line last season.

In college, McGovern started 21 games at right guard and 14 games at center. If he’s available, the 49ers could draft him in Round 3, plug him into the starting lineup at right guard and eventually move him to center to replace starter Weston Richburg, who struggled during his first season with the 49ers in 2018.

Elgton Jenkins, ?Mississippi State

Started 25 games at center the past two seasons, but also has experience playing guard and tackle.

Jenkins was the starting center for the South team under Shanahan at the Senior Bowl, and reportedly was one of, if not the best, offensive linemen at the event. He won all of his reps during practice in the one-on-one pass-rush drills and threw two defensive players onto their backs during the game.

Jenkins has tremendous power for a center, meaning he probably can play guard in the NFL as well, even though he hasn’t played guard since 2016. That shouldn’t bother the 49ers. Mike Person hadn’t started an NFL game at a position other than center until the 49ers made him their starting right guard in 2018. Jenkins could make the same transition if the 49ers draft him in Round 3.

Next week: Part 3 of this ?four-part series, which will focus on wide receivers.