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Will the 49ers Draft Texas Offensive Tackle Kelvin Banks Jr.?

Don't be surprised if Banks is the pick.
Grant Cohn|
Oct 12, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr. (78) in action during the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Oct 12, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr. (78) in action during the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers haven't drafted an offensive tackle in Round 1 since 2018 when they took Mike McGlinchey with the 9th pick. Now they have the 11th pick in the upcoming draft. Will they take an offensive tackle again?

Their starting left tackle, Trent Williams, will be 37 in July and played in only 10 games this season. And their starting right tackle, Colton McKivitz, is subpar and will be a free agent in 2026. The 49ers could wait until next year to draft a starting offensive tackle, but the 49ers will not have a top-11 draft pick if they bounce back next season. And starting offensive tackles are extremely hard to find later in the draft.

That's why the 49ers might take Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. with the 11th pick. Of course, they also need a defensive tackle and a defensive end, but those positions are easier to find on Day 2 of the draft.

Banks has the strength, agility and balance the 49ers covet in their offensive linemen. He has the traits to be an elite run-blocker no matter what position he plays. He also has the lateral quickness to be a good pass-protector, although he doesn't have the arm length to be great in that regard. Still, he's a much better athlete than McGlinchey ever was.

The 49ers could put Banks at left guard in 2025, move him to right tackle in 2026 to replace Colton McKivitz and then eventually move him to left tackle to replace Trent Williams when he retires. Or, the 49ers could play Banks at right tackle permanently and move McKivitz to guard.

Don't be surprised if Banks is the pick.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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