Has 49ers Colton McKivitz been an upgrade over Mike McGlinchey?

Since John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan took over the reins of the San Francisco 49ers, right tackle has been one of the weak points of the team's offense. The 49ers brass made a move to improve the position in 2018 when they used the ninth overall draft pick on Mike McGlinchey. Though McGlinchey was a talented run blocker for the 49ers, his pass blocking was not what the team needed.

So Lynch and Shanahan made the decision to allow the right tackle to leave in free agency, and chose to replace him with fourth-year offensive tackle, Colton McKivitz. And now that McKivitz has completed his first six games of the season, we thought we'd take a look and see how he's fared so far.

Last week, David Lombardi shared some PFF pass-block grades, as it relates to the 49ers. In the post, he noted that McKivitz and McGlinchey were tied at #42 out of 61 qualifying tackles. He also pointed out that McKivitz's #47 ranking was better than McGlinchey's #55 in pass-block efficiency. McGlinchey signed a big free-agent contract with the Denver Broncos back in March.

Coming into the season, many thought that McKivitz would be a better pass blocker than McGlinchey, but that he likely would not be as good in the run game. So far this season, that appears to be true. Although there are plenty of games remaining.

McKivitz has been tested in the early weeks. His first game as the full-time right tackle was a challenge when the former West Virginia Mountaineer faced the Steelers' T.J. Watt. McKivitz didn't fare so well in that game, giving up three sacks and five QB hits to the star pass rusher, including a strip sack that gave Pittsburgh the ball. But that was only his sixth NFL start, and it came on the road against one of the league's most elite pass rushers.

I reached out to John Chapman, of the 49ers Rush Podcast, to see what he's seen on film and how he thinks McKivitz has played so far. Chapman replied, "McKivitz has played above his pay grade as the 74th highest-paid tackle in the NFL. Consistency has been his main issue, but not in pass pro. After a rough week 1 vs TJ Watt, he's allowed only 1 sack and 1 QB hit in 5 games total. My favorite thing about him is his physicality. That fits the 49ers identity much more than McGlinchey ever did."

If you want an idea of the physicality Chapman is talking about, look no further than the Sunday night game against the Dallas Cowboys. On a goal-line situation, where you need your offensive line to take control, McKivitz tossed DeMarcus Lawrence out of the play on Christian McCaffrey's touchdown run.

I asked my PSF co-host, Anthony Robertson, of 49ers Cutback, how he would compare McKivitz and McGinchey so far. Robertson said, "Colton McKivitz has had ups and downs in his first 6 starts at right tackle for the 49ers. McKivitz has been a mild improvement as a pass blocker over his predecessor Mike McGlinchey. His balance and handwork are clearly better than McGlinchey's. McKivitz is also better at anchoring against the bull rush and better at protecting his chest plate.

"Where both struggle is when they come across a pass rusher that has a combination of speed and power. This makes McKivitz susceptible to inside spin moves and inside power moves."

In the Dallas game, Micah Parsons lined all over the place, but he lined up over McKivitz for much of the game. As Lombardi notes, Parsons entered the 49ers game with at least five pressures in eight straight games. The 49ers held Parsons to only three pressures, and McKivitz handled himself well. The 49ers did give McKivitz some help, though.

McKivitz has given up 11 pressures and four sacks so far but has only been called for one penalty this season, a false start. The 49ers "other" starting tackle, Trent Williams, has committed four penalties so far. Right guard Spencer Burford has committed five penalties in six games. McGlinchey has been penalized four times in 2023.

The Cleveland Browns were easily the toughest matchup for the 49ers offensive line thus far in 2023. According to PFF, the 49ers' pressures allowed versus the Browns were scored as Williams (4), Jake Brendel (3), Burford (3), Aaron Banks (2), and McKivitz (1). No one will argue that McKivitz is the 49ers' best offensive lineman, but on that day, he may have been. Of course, Williams was dealing with a sprained ankle, and playing against Myles Garrett. McKivitz was not. Had Garrett lined up on McKivitz, those numbers would certainly have looked different.

But what about the run game? Robertson noted, "McGlinchey has a clear advantage over McKivitz in run blocking. McGlinchey was a technician, with tremendous speed, hand placement, and proper lines on second-level blocks. In short, the 49ers got a subtle improvement in pass protection and a step back in run blocking with McKivitz. It is very conceivable that Colton Mckivitz will continue to grow and get better as the season progresses."

So how does McKivitz stack up to the man he replaced? It's hard to say at this point. It's still early, but clearly, McKivitz is better at some things, and McGlinchey is better at others. The hope is that McKivitz continues to improve as he gets more experience. He will have some good games along the way, and he'll have some bad ones.

For now, the 49ers are off to a strong start, and to this point, the right tackle has not hurt the team as some fans feared he would. But it doesn't get any easier on Monday night as McKivitz prepares to face Vikings' pass rusher, Danielle Hunter, who currently leads the NFL with eight sacks.