‘I think he is making a push’ – San Francisco 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan hints at a late-round rookie earning a starting spot for Week 1
49ers HC Kyle Shanahan highlighted the strong play of 4th-round rookie Carver Willis after their preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders.
The San Francisco 49ers wrapped up the preseason with an 18-12 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, but that’s not the main story. Kyle Shanahan had something promising to say about a 49ers rookie offensive lineman who may have earned a starting spot.
49ers fourth-round pick Carver Willis has started every preseason game, and now it sounds like the coaching staff is close to making his status official.
Shanahan was asked postgame if Willis is making a push to start at the left guard spot, and he delivered a telling answer:
“I think he is making a push. We haven’t made that decision yet. We’ll have to evaluate the whole half of play today, but we’ve been putting him in a lot in practice too.
We’ll have to make that decision. I don’t know if it’ll be by Monday because of our opening game, but we’ll make that decision soon and have a good idea as coaches.”
I think it makes all the sense in the world for Willis to be the starter this upcoming season. And that’s a big deal.
Why Willis should be the guy
Look, the 49ers brought in veteran free agent Robert Jones on just a one-year, $1.75 million contract. Jones has also been dealing with a calf injury this past week at practice.
Not that the injury is of massive importance here, but the money is. San Francisco is not tied to Jones in any significant financial way. The team can certainly stand to play Willis over him.
The signal of Willis starting all preseason tells you everything you need to know. The coaching staff views him as their guy at the position.
Now, Willis is definitely more valuable as a run blocker coming into the NFL than a pass blocker. He had an overall PFF grade of 79.9 coming out of Washington, which is solid. His run blocking grade sat at 84.8, while his pass blocking came in at only 69.2.
There are spots in his game to clean up, and if he starts as a rookie, there will certainly be bumps along the way. But the upside is real.
San Francisco’s rookie class is shaping up nicely
This gives me a lot of promise for the future of the 49ers, regardless of whether or not Willis starts Week 1. San Francisco has been known as a more veteran team over the years. This 2026 rookie class, in a small sample size, seems to be shaping up well.
Think about it…you could have Willis starting at left guard. We all know De’Zhaun Stribling is going to play a ton in his rookie year and might even be in contention for Offensive Rookie of the Year. That is, if the preseason is any indication. You also can’t forget about Kaelon Black. He’s likely RB3 right now behind Christian McCaffrey and Jordan James but has shown some promise.
On the defensive side, Gracen Halton, Jaden Dugger, and Ephesians Prysock have all shown good things in the preseason. Maybe I wanted to see a little more from Romello Height, but that is plenty of strong rookie production. That is the future of this team.
It was a good preseason for San Francisco. The 49ers obviously need to get healthy and ready to go for Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia. But what Kyle Shanahan had to say about Willis was telling, and I would not be surprised if by next Monday they name him a 49ers starter. Honestly, he should be.
