For the most part, the San Francisco 49ers offensive line is set. You have Trent Williams and Mike McGlinchey as locks to anchor the ends and the underrated Laken Tomlinson at the left guard spot. Right now, Ben Garland is filling in for Weston Richburg. The latter is on the physically-unable-to-perform list as he continues to recover from the torn patellar tendon suffered last season.
General manager John Lynch had hoped Richburg would be ready for training camp and shared in April that the offensive lineman should be healthy for the start of the regular season.
"He's on target, I should say, to be ready to play if the season kicks off at the normal time," Lynch said. "He's on target for that."
That leaves the competition for the starting right guard job. Pro Football Focus currently lists Tom Compton, whom the 49ers signed to a one-year deal in March, as the starter on its lineup page. That is far from a sure thing, though.
"The plan is to compete for the right guard position," Compton told reporters in May. "They're obviously not just going to hand it to me. It's definitely something that has to be earned. My mindset is that I'm competing for the right guard spot."
McGlinchey was asked on Monday who has been lining up next to him at that spot during walk-throughs.
"It's been a rotation between Daniel Brunskill and Tom Compton," answered McGlinchey.
Brunskill proved to be an invaluable backup last season, filling in for McGlinchey at right tackle through four games and starting another in place of Joe Staley on the left side. He also filled in at right guard for Mike Person toward the end of the season. San Francisco subsequently released Person, who went on to retire.
The 49ers also drafted the versatile Colton McKivitz out of West Virginia in the fifth round.
McGlinchey was asked about both Compton and McKivitz.
"Both are extremely great guys," the third-year tackle responded. "Great to have in our room, and they were great additions to the culture that we have. In only getting to know them through Zoom in the spring and now, in the last two weeks or so, they're really a lot of fun to be around ... both very, very versatile football players.
"They've played a lot of football, Colton in college, Tom in the NFL, a lot of different spots and a lot of different schemes. Tom played for a long time in Kyle's (Shanahan) system in Washington, too."
Compton played two seasons for Shanahan when the 49ers head coach was the offensive coordinator in Washington, and then one season with the Atlanta Falcons.
"It's two guys who are going to come in and compete really hard for us," McGlinchey added, "give us a little bit added depth at not just the one position, but a bunch of them, and going to allow us to do certain things with those guys there and push other guys forward, which is really cool."
Poll
- Who wins the starting right guard job?
- Daniel Brunskill85%
- Tom Compton15%
- 131 votes
