ENGLEWOOD, Col. – When the 49ers jumped back into the end of the first round of the NFL Draft to select Stanford guard Joshua Garnett, it was easy to assume the Outland Trophy winner would be a starter in his first season.
Now, it’s not looking like such a simple task for Garnett to break into the lineup in the first week of the regular season.
And that is actually a good thing for the 49ers, who appear to have assembled a much-improved cast of offensive line candidates from a year ago. Garnett played well Sunday against the Houston Texans in his first exhibition game, lining up with the second-team offense.
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“The hope is to develop him as quickly as we can,” 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said. “But there are other guys in that locker room competing just as hard for those spots. He’s going to earn whatever role he has. If he’s a starter, he’s going to earn it.
“He’s a talented player. That’s why we moved up in the first round to get him. We feel he is a starter in the National Football League. How soon he asserts himself, time will tell.”
[MAIOCCO: All but one spot on 49ers' O-line remain unsettled]
Baalke pointed out the low numbers of offensive linemen who have been able in recent years to break into NFL starting lineups early in their careers.
San Francisco 49ers
In 2015, there were 13 offensive linemen selected in the first two rounds of the NFL draft. Seven of those offensive linemen, including two top-10 picks, were primary starters as rookies. The other six players started a combined 16 games.
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Garnett arrived at training camp in a bit of a disadvantage. Garnett had to stay away from the 49ers until the final minicamp in June because of an NFL rule that does not allow rookies to join offseason programs until their school year has concluded. Stanford is on the quarters system and finishes later than most schools.
“He’s playing catch up right now,” Baalke said.
Garnett opened camp at right guard, where he competed against Andrew Tiller, who played well in his seven starts last season. Two weeks ago, Garnett was shifted to left guard, where veteran Zane Beadles has lined up since signing as a free agent in the offseason. Garnett played on the left side at Stanford, where he was chosen as the best interior lineman in the country.
"We thought maybe the best side for us and him is the left side,” 49ers offensive line coach Pat Flaherty said.
The 49ers targeted Garnett at No. 28 in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs, taking no chances that he would still be around when the team was scheduled to pick at No. 37. The 49ers sent Kansas City that second-round pick, as well as a fourth-rounder and sixth-rounder, to receive No. 28 and a seventh-round selection.
“You can never have enough depth on the offensive line and you need time to develop it,” Baalke said.
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