San Francisco 49ers: Erik Magnuson should replace Laken Tomlinson

Erik Magnuson impressed at tackle for the San Francisco 49ers in Week 9 and should remain in the lineup when Joe Staley returns from injury.

The San Francisco 49ers offensive line has received a lot of criticism in recent times. Even though the unit struggled in the Week 9 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, there were some reasons for optimism at the tackle position with the play of both Trent Brown and Erik Magnuson.

Quarterback C.J. Beathard may have been sacked five times and been on the receiving end of 16 hits but, according to Pro Football Focus (h/t Niners Nation), none of those were given up by either of Brown or Magnuson. The pair gave up just three hurries between them, which is particularly impressive given that Brown (one hurry) and Magnuson (two hurries) were both playing out of position.

Joe Staley’s orbital injury forced Brown to shift from right to left tackle. Magnuson filled Brown’s old role despite his being considered a better positional fit at guard.

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Brown’s assured performance at left tackle should provide further evidence that he is a cornerstone of their offense who is worth locking down to an extension. However, of more intrigue is the performance of Magnuson, who made his case for being a permanent fixture up front going forward.

Magnuson struggled when pressed into service by Staley’s injury in the Week 8 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, but demonstrated significant promise just a week later.

In pass protection, Magnuson displayed an ability to win his individual matchups by using both power in his hands and impressive quickness with his feet.

On both of the below plays, Magnuson gives his opponent no opportunity to disrupt Beathard. First he dominates his matchup with Chandler Jones by striking the linebacker in the chest early and then buys Beathard more time to hit Marquise Goodwin deep by utilizing a secondary punch on which he extends his arms very well and generates impressive power.

Then, when matched up against Haason Reddick, Magnuson shows off his quickness. His reaction to the snap negates Reddick’s initial burst and Magnuson and he stays in step with the linebacker to ensure Reddick is forced behind the play and has no chance to make an impact.

He also proved proficient in working with guard Brandon Fusco, himself in the midst of an impressive season, to pick up stunts and ensure they were unsuccessful.

However, while he did a good job of sealing off his man on the run play below, it was evident Magnuson still has some improvements to make as a run blocker, particularly when playing in space.

A whiff on an attempted block on Deone Bucannon cut off a cutback lane for Carlos Hyde, who was forced outside as a result, and a similar inability to make contact with Robert Nkemdiche allowed the defensive lineman to tackle Hyde on a play later in the contest.

And, though he was not credited with giving up a sack, Magnuson does appear responsbilble for this takedown of Beathard late in the game, where Karlos Dansby dipped round him and hauled the quarterback down by the ankle.

Despite those mistakes, Magnsuon’s overall performance was still one to be admired for a player making his first career start at a spot that isn’t seen as his best position.

The tackle play is not why San Francisco struggled last weekend and has struggled consistently in recent weeks. The problem lies on the interior of the line and specifically with center Daniel Kilgore and guard Laken Tomlinson, who gave up three sacks and a pair of hits versus the Cardinals, per Niners Nation.

At this stage in the season there is little merit to giving the offensive line a further headache by making a change at center, yet plenty could be gained by benching Tomlinson and finding out if Magnsuon has the chance to be a long-term solution at what was considered his best position heading into the 2017 draft.

Next: San Francisco 49ers: 3 Takeaways vs. Cardinals in Week 9

Such a decision is of course predicated on Staley’s return to the lineup. But the veteran was back in practice on Wednesday and his comeback should lead to discussions among Kyle Shanahan and his coaching staff as to whether to give Magnuson as a prolonged look over a player in Tomlinson who has done little well since the 49ers made the trade for him.