Kyle Shanahan Seeing Improvement From Aaron Banks in 49ers Preseason Finale

Some improvements were made by Aaron Banks from his last preseason game according to Kyle Shanahan. Perhaps it'll help kickstart some momentum for him.

Aaron Banks hasn’t had the most convincing training camp and preseason as the new starting left guard.

Even with Banks flipping over to his natural position at left from right guard, he’s still looking green out there. Kyle Shanahan on the other hand is seeing it differently. He saw improvement from Banks in the preseason finale against the Texans on Thursday night.

“I thought he had a better game this week than verse Minnesota,” said Shanahan during his Friday conference call. “So I know there was definitely a couple that he missed, but I also thought it was a full offense there. There was a couple I thought we could have got rid of the ball a lot sooner. And there was a couple that the quarterback didn't have a chance on, so as a whole, it wasn't good enough. When you ask him in particular, I thought he did improve from the week before.”

Banks is clearly having a rough go at it. That really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. He looked abysmal in training camp and the preseason last year, plus he was nursing an injury. Just because he switched back to his natural position, the comfort level was or should’ve returned so he didn’t look out of place, but there is definitely some real tough growing pains occurring. It’s natural at this point and he didn’t play too bad in the preseason finale. 

But he needs to polish up his game and quickly. 

Use the game against the Texans as a launchpad toward playing better. It’s why the 49ers gave Jason Poe some first-team reps. They’re trying to show Banks that his time is running out. He needs to solidify himself soon. Poe receiving reps is enough of a hint of what they think of Banks. Right now, Spencer Burford is looking better than him. Burford is proving why teams do not have to draft a guard so high in the second-round because you can find one on Day 3 of the draft. 

Banks is looking like a reach for the 49ers to the point where their shoulders are going to be dislocated if he doesn’t improve over time. The shakiness of the offensive line is what concerned me since March for the 49ers the most. They need Banks to find a sufficient level. It’s on the coaches to get it out of him.

And if they can’t, then it is another miss from the 49ers drafting an offensive lineman.