SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The 2017 NFL draft is set to begin on April 27 in Philadelphia. The San Francisco 49ers own 10 picks, including No. 2 overall.
With a new regime in coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch in place, it's hard to know what direction the franchise will go with its picks. But the 49ers have plenty of needs as they go about reconstructing their roster.
Here's a look at what the 49ers need on the offensive line:
IN PLACE
Joe Staley, Trent Brown, Joshua Garnett, Daniel Kilgore, Zane Beadles, Jeremy Zuttah, John Theus, Alex Balducci, Norman Price, Garry Gilliam.
POTENTIAL FITS
Tackle: Alabama's Cam Robinson, Utah's Garett Bolles, Wisconsin's Ryan Ramczyk, Western Michigan's Taylor Moton, Florida State's Roderick Johnson, Troy's Antonio Garcia
Guard: Western Kentucky's Forrest Lamp, Indiana's Dan Feeney, Temple's Dion Dawkins, Pittsburgh's Dorian Johnson, Utah's Isaac Asiata, San Diego State's Nico Siragusa, Kutztown's Jordan Morgan
Center: Ohio State's Pat Elflein, LSU's Ethan Pocic, West Virginia's Tyler Orlosky, Baylor's Kyle Fuller, Kentucky's Jon Toth
WHAT'S NEEDED
In trading for Zuttah last month, the Niners have bolstered their depth on the interior and given themselves options for how they line up come training camp. There could be some jockeying for position among Zuttah and Kilgore for the starting center spot, though Zuttah can also play guard and could battle with Beadles or Garnett for one of those spots as well. Brown and Staley are locked in to their tackle spots and Beadles gives the Niners insurance all over the line.
This isn't a dominant group, but with a little more luck on the health front, it can be a good one. There will come a day soon when the Niners must begin a succession plan to replace Staley, who will be 33 when the season starts. Brown is a candidate to move to the left side as he did when Staley missed time at the end of last season but regardless, the Niners will need a new tackle at that point.
For now, the more pressing need is depth. The Niners signed Gilliam with the idea he can offer some of that and help Brown on the right side. While Beadles has the versatility to play inside and outside and Theus got some valuable repetitions in his rookie season, the 49ers have kicked the tires on other free agents at tackle like Byron Bell, who most recently played for Tennessee.
VERDICT
This is not a strong draft class when it comes to offensive linemen as they become harder to evaluate coming from the proliferation of spread offenses in the college game. For evidence of how this class is viewed, one need only to look at the lucrative contracts handed out to top offensive linemen in free agency. Without elite-level linemen available in the draft, teams were willing to overspend to get linemen who can help right away.
Depending on where you look, Robinson, Bolles and Ramczyk sit near the top of the class, and the 49ers have showed interest in Robinson. But it's hard to imagine a scenario in which the Niners would use their first-round pick on an offensive lineman. In fact, with their needs at other positions, it's hard to see them picking a lineman before the third day of the draft.
Of course, if the Niners see a player that offers value sooner, they could make a move, but the bet here is that they keep an eye open for a bargain in the later rounds and/or grab multiple linemen with upside as undrafted free agents.
