Examining the fit: Aaron Banks and Jaylon Moore

By Scooter_McG

The best way to protect the franchise QB is to, unsurprisingly, keep defenders off him, as well as provide a strong running game to take the pressure off and keep the offense on schedule. To this end, the offensive line can be considered the second most important unit on offense after the QB.

Last year the 49ers struggled keeping their QBs upright. According to PFF the 49ers ranked number 24 in pass blocking in 2020, and whether you like PFF or not, that rank showed up on tape. Issues in pass protection led to Jimmy G and Nick Mullens suffering injuries throughout the year, while also being under pressure from the pass rush far too quickly and far too often. The interior of the OL in particular was a problem, as Richburg was unable to come back from injury, Garland was banged up, which forced a move for RG Brunskill to center. This made both the center and RG spots something of a revolving door all season. McGlinchey also struggled in pass protection, potentially in part due to the inconsistency next to him.

And it wasn’t just the pass protection. While the running game was still good in 2020, the 49ers struggled at times to run the ball effectively, and they were nowhere near as successful running the ball as they were in 2019. Not all of that had to do with the OL though – one of the main reasons for the running game not being as dominant in 2020 was they didn’t see as many explosive plays in the running game. In 2019 they had 80 runs of over 15 yards, while in 2020 that fell to 51. A lot of those explosive runs are more about the downfield blocking and the RB themselves. In 2019, Mostert and Breida provided the bulk of those explosive runs, and in 2020 the team no longer had Breida and Mostert missed a lot of the season due to injury. Even so, the adjusted line yards fell from 4.53 in 2019 to 4.2 in 2020 – while this was still a respectable number it demonstrates that the OL was not as successful in 2020 at providing holes for the running game.  

Historically, and much to the lament of 49er fans, Kyle Shanahan has not prioritised the OG position. Some will argue that the lack of attention to the OG position cost the team the Super Bowl in 2019. Mike Person was a serviceable player, but Chris Jones and company abused him all game (playing through a neck injury I’m sure didn’t help) and a Chris Jones bat down late in the game was a key play in that ill-fated Super Bowl for the 49ers.

In 2020 the team was forced to use draft capital to replace Joe Staley (trading for Trent Williams) and also added Colton McKivitz on Day 3 to replace the departing Person, but this was more of a holding pattern than an effort to improve the position. Along with the injuries at center, this was part of the reason the 49ers QB position was in disarray most of the season.

In 2021 the team has finally seen the error of their ways. Re-signing Williams was obviously a must, but they also have spent considerable resources to fix the interior of the OL. Alex Mack was added in FA, and now Aaron Banks and Jaylon Moore have been added in the second and fifth rounds of the draft, respectively.

Aaron Banks is a history making selection. He is the highest drafted OG ever by a Shanahan led franchise. Prior to Banks, the highest a Shanahan had drafted an OG was in 1999, when Mike Shanahan selected Lennie Friedman. In terms of Kyle Shanahan’s career as an OC or HC, the highest drafted OG is Joel Bitonio at #35 in 2014 at Cleveland, one of the best OGs in the NFL, though it is unclear how much input Kyle would have had into that selection. Given the resource used to draft him, and history of the Shanahan’s when it comes to using premium resources on OGs, it seems clear that the expectations for Banks are high.

Banks is not your traditional Shanahan style OG either. Shanahan likes to use OGs that have the requisite athleticism to play on the move and in space to fit his outside zone scheme. As a result he has typically employed lighter linemen as they are typically more mobile and athletic. And this is what makes Banks something of an outlier for Shanahan – he’s a big man, at around 6’5”, 330lbs. However, as Shanahan explained in the press conference when discussing the pick, despite his size Banks moves very well. He displayed his ability to move and make reach blocks in Notre Dame’s offense. He showed an ability to get to the second level as well as be an effective lead blocker pulling around the edge. He may not be a player you want to use consistently blocking in space, but he’s not a phone booth type guy, either. With his size and strength he is also very capable of creating movement on inside runs, and he plays with the type of punishing attitude every OL coach loves. This fits in well with the way Shanahan’s offense has evolved over the past two seasons as, while it remains based on outside zone, he has introduced far more inside zone and power/ gap concepts into his scheme.

Importantly, Banks is also very good in pass protection. He allowed just two sacks in 2019, and zero sacks in 2020. He has a strong anchor against the bull rush, something a number of the 49ers linemen struggled with last season. He can be susceptible to speedy, agile rushers, but he is nimble enough to compensate the majority of the time. And once he latches on it is usually a win to Banks.

Banks was a key cog in the excellent OL play at ND, which helped the team to the college playoffs in 2020. 

The 49ers didn’t just stop there though. They backed up the Banks pick by selecting Jaylon Moore in the fifth round. 

Moore was recruited by Western Michigan as a TE, but moved to the OL as a sophomore and was a three year starter at LT. Western Michigan ran a zone heavy scheme, so Moore has plenty of experience working within zone concepts and playing on the move. This plays right into his strengths, as his TE background shows up on film with his plus athleticism, foot speed and movement skills. Moore may need to work on his play strength in the NFL as he can struggle against power, but part of this issue is more technique than strength based as he can get a little high and not always set his feet.

In the press conference after Day 3, Lynch and Shanahan outlined that the plan is for Moore to move to OG for the NFL, but they will also see if he can provide cover at OT. This makes sense as Moore likely doesn’t have the ideal length to play OT in the NFL, while OG seems like a natural fit for the 49ers offense. As razor has mentioned, Moore could be in line to be the successor for Laken Tomlinson, whose contract voids at the end of the 2021 season.

After four years of seeing the 49ers OGs struggle against good opposition it was extremely pleasing for me to see the team invest in the position in the 2021 draft. I think both of these additions have a good chance of becoming starters for the 49ers in the not too distant future, and my expectation is Banks will start at RG this year.