49ers select OG Josh Garnett with No. 28 pick in 2016 NFL draft

The Kansas City Chiefs traded the No. 28 pick of the 2016 NFL draft to the San Francisco 49ers, who selected Stanford offensive guard Josh Garnett.

Doug Farrar | Apr 28, 2016

49ers select OG Josh Garnett with No. 28 pick in 2016 NFL draft /

The Kansas City Chiefs traded the No. 28 pick to the San Francisco 49ers, who selected Stanford offensive guard Josh Garnett.

GRADE: B

When the 49ers were crushing opponents with Jim Harbaugh’s rushing attack, Mike Iupati was decimating opponents with his power at left guard. Garnett projects well as a similar player—he’s a pure power guy who may need a bit of adjustment in Chip Kelly’s zone scheme. Garnett has the talent to switch, and though it may take time for that to happen, he’s going to be a special player over time. It’s just a matter of scheme fit, and how much you believe it’s worth it to trade back into the first round, losing three picks in the process, for a guard.

• 2016 NFL draft tracker: Follow along with every team’s pick

Strengths: Anyone who caught a glimpse of the Christian McCaffrey Show this past season no doubt had at least an inadvertent look at Garnett. The mauling guard often led the way for Stanford’s ground game, between the tackles and pulling outside. Garnett overpowers defenders and is always on the lookout for an extra block. —Chris Burke

Weaknesses: Lack of quickness may be more problematic in NFL. Can be sloppy in pass protection. —CB

Published Apr 28, 2016

DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009, Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine. He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.