Draft Day Steal: 49ers’ Draft Pick Could Become NFL’s Next Elite Offensive Tackle
Pro Football Focus analyst Gordon McGuinness took a fresh approach compared to the typical mock drafts flooding the offseason. Instead of releasing another pick-by-pick first-round projection, he analyzed each NFL team’s biggest needs and identified one draft prospect for each who could fill those gaps.
For the San Francisco 49ers, McGuinness highlighted offensive guard, offensive tackle, defensive tackle, and edge rusher as key areas of need. He suggested head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch address the offensive line with their top pick, the 11th overall, by selecting Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks.
“A down season sees the 49ers with a top-15 selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, and that would give them the opportunity to bolster their offensive line,” McGuinness explained. “Banks was elite as a pass blocker in 2024, allowing just four total pressures on 143 true pass sets.”
Banks certainly graded high when it comes to pass-blocking. He earned an impressive 89.8 grade in that category last season, the highest among Longhorns players and fifth-best among all collegiate offensive linemen. Additionally, he posted an 81.0 run-blocking grade, a significant improvement from his 68.4 mark in 2023, culminating in a career-high 86.0 overall offensive grade.
The 6-foot-4, 320-pound All-American exclusively played left tackle in college, making him a potential successor to Trent Williams when the future Hall of Famer eventually retires.
Banks’ accolades include winning the prestigious Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award this season. With his recent declaration for the NFL Draft, he’s positioned himself as a top prospect for teams seeking to solidify their offensive line—like the 49ers.
