Don’t be surprised if the 49ers take an offensive tackle with the 11th pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
They haven’t drafted an offensive tackle since 2021. But this week at the NFL Combine, they met with lots of them including Missouri’s Armand Membou.
Membou is one of the top offensive tackles in the draft — he’s projected to get taken within the first 15 picks. He’s on the small side for his position, but he’s a terrific fit in the 49ers’ outside zone blocking scheme and he looks like he could be a quality starting right tackle if he can’t quite handle blocking the quarterback’s blindside. The 49ers even could play him at guard for a season until Colton McKivitz becomes a free agent in 2026.
Membou isn’t big for an offensive tackle, but he has long arms and he’s athletic. Plus he has experience in an outside-zone blocking scheme, which means he fits the 49ers offensive scheme. They just have to figure out if he will be the best player available when they’re on the clock.
In addition to Membou, the 49ers have had formal interviews with Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons, Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks and Oregon offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. So the 49ers are being thorough in their search.
Still, there’s no guarantee the 49ers will draft an offensive tackle early in the upcoming draft. In fact, it’s possible they’ll take a defensive lineman instead, because somehow their D-line is worse than their O-line.
