Mel Kiper's first 2025 mock draft pick for 49ers will face a new and extremely difficult challenge if he lands with San Francisco
While the NFL playoffs are heading towards a conclusion, for 28 of the 32 teams in the league, the time for draft speculation is already here. The draft may still be a few months away, but ESPN's legendary draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. has already released his first mock of the year, one which sees […]
While the NFL playoffs are heading towards a conclusion, for 28 of the 32 teams in the league, the time for draft speculation is already here.
The draft may still be a few months away, but ESPN's legendary draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. has already released his first mock of the year, one which sees the San Francisco 49ers fill a clear need.
Kiper has the 49ers selecting Texas tackle Kelvin Banks Jr with the 11th overall selection.
He writes of Banks:
"Banks has a ton of experience, having started 42 games over his college career — and he allowed only three sacks over that time. I'm curious to see his combine measurements — height might be a question mark if he's 6-3 or shorter — but he has the movement traits and strength to seal off the edge in pass protection.
"The 49ers still have Trent Williams locking down the left side for two more seasons, but he will be 37 at the start of next season. It's time to start planning for the future. Plus, Banks could help on the right side for now, where the Niners have missed Mike McGlinchey (signed with Denver two years ago)."
That the 49ers need a long-term successor to Williams at left tackle is no secret, and that point was hammered home by him missing the last seven games of the 2024 season through injury. On top of that, they could certainly serve to upgrade on starting right tackle Colton McKivitz, and Banks undoubtedly has the talent to displace him.
Yet the immediate problem with spending the 11th pick on Banks is that he did not play a single snap at right tackle during his stellar career with the Longhorns.
Players have switched sides successfully before, with notable recent examples including Penei Sewell and Tristan Wirfs, but it remains an extremely difficult challenge
Former Kansas City Chiefs tackle Mitchell Schwartz wrote in a social media post in 2022 of switching sides: "It’s similar to trying to eat or use the bathroom with your opposite hand. Everything is just backwards and feels wrong and it takes a lot of work to make it normal."
Orlando Brown Jr. is another who has played both spots. In an interview with Orange and Black Insider in 2023, he compared switching to a boxer changing his stance.
Said Brown:
"Asking someone to fight in an opposite stance, it’s a super uncomfortable feeling from, figuring out the timing of your punch, being able to step back in the jab, whatever it may be, your nervous system, the way you’re wired, it’s different. Moving from left to right is a lot easier in my opinion than moving from right to left but, moving from the left to the right side I’m having to changeup my initial stance. There’s certain things as a right tackle that I don’t do as a left because those muscles are a lot more underdeveloped. As a right tackle, I have to have my inside foot pointed more at the defender, as a left tackle I can have my inside foot pointing inside towards the football. Just because of comfortability, as a left tackle I’m stronger, I’m better in pass protection. As a right tackle, I had to kind of develop the timing and develop a different type of game."
Whether Banks has the ability to develop that different type of game is an unknown the 49ers will need to consider when evaluating him as a potential 11th overall pick. San Francisco does have the benefit of head coach Kyle Shanahan, a Texas alumnus, having a close friendship with Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian, which should allow them to make an informed decision.
If the 49ers do decide to select Banks, then he will have a Hall of Fame mentor in Williams and a widely respected O-Line coach in Chris Foerster to aid a potential transition to the right side. Still, making that move would be a risk, and it's something the Niners will have to take into account when it comes time to decide what to do with their highest draft pick since 2021.
NFL playoffs have hammered home what the 49ers’ primary focus should be in biggest offseason of Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch era
They’ve neglected these areas of late.
