49ers draft: 5 options at offensive tackles in the 1st round

As we talk about the San Francisco 49ers contract situation with left tackle Trent Williams, it only makes sense to discuss potential options at the end of the first round, or if they trade out to acquire more picks—or trade up if there’s a player they covet—to be the potential heir to their future Hall of Famer.

According to the NFL’s mock draft database, there are six offensive tackles ranked as high as 21 and as low as 50, so we’ll go over each one as a potential option for the 49ers in the first pick. Let’s pick up where we left off on Tuesday, with Alabama’s offensive tackle.

21) Kadyn Proctor – Alabama

Proctor is a mountain of a man at 6’7″, 360 pounds. He started three years ago, so there is plenty of tape on him, and there are no secrets about how he’d project to the next level playing at a big school like Alabama.

PFF gave Proctor an 84.2 pass block grade and an 81.1 run block grade in 2025, for those that are into that. Sports Info Solutions had Proctor with a blown-block rate against the run of 0.6 percent, the best in the class. However, his blown block rate of 3.4 percent against the pass is good for 11th. Roughly 45.5 percent of Proctor’s snaps were zone plays.

However, only 7.7 percent of the snaps were run toward the gap Proctor was responsible for. If you have a “special” player like Proctor, why didn’t Bama run behind him more? He ranks 18th in the class in that metric, and only 15th in yards before contact per attempt.

It doesn’t take long to realize how explosive an athlete Proctor is, specifically his lower half. There are some pass pro sets where Proctor flies out of his stance, gets his hands on the defender, and steers them where he wants them to go.

There are enough reps to suggest he will struggle at the next level with the different post-snap looks he’ll see. The games defenses play at the NFL level are far superior to what he saw in the SEC, and even then, Proctor missed some free runners.

Proctor allowed 72 pressures during his three-year stint as a starter. He had only two starts this past season in which he didn’t allow any pressure, and one of those games was against Eastern Illinois. His power looks great as a run blocker, but it’s his detriment in pass pro. The “kill shot” blocks Proctor makes in the run lead him to lung and drop his head, which is why there are too many whiffs.

Naturally, there’s an overcorrection to that. You have to imagine the coaching staff is in his ear, telling Proctor to either stand up or be taller in his sets. That happened, and now that 10 out of 10 power plays more like 7 out of 10 because he has to absorb contact.

Proctor is a fascinating prospect. He’s all over the place, which is why it would be difficult to take him in the first round. You could put together a reel of clips showing him driving defenders out of the hole, anchoring with ease, and tossing defensive backs aside.

You could do the same thing with him, losing far too many times cleanly on similar speed rushes, falling off blocks, not blocking the looper on two and three-man games, and looking like a player who still needs refinement.

Could that all change playing next to Trent Williams at left guard? Maybe. The 49ers must ask if Proctor is worth being wrong about. The ceiling is sky high, but the floor is Spencer Burford. I think we know that answer.

23) Caleb Lomu -Utah

Lomu is listed at 6’6″, 308 pounds. Lomu just turned 24, despite being a redshirt sophomore. He was Utah’s left tackle for the previous two seasons. PFF gave him an 82.1 grade against the pass and 62.0 against the run. Sports Info Solutions ranked its blown block rate against the pass fourth-best in the class, while it ranked 10th against the run. Utah ran behind Lomu more than any other tackle in the class, averaging 3.8 yards before contact, which was also tops in the draft.

About 25 percent of Lomu’s snaps were on zone blocking plays. The Utes pulled Lomu enough to see his athleticism and how he attacks on the move. Lomu moves like you’d expect a 308-pounder to move. He’s light on his feet and under control. He looks like a natural.

That comes in handy when Lomu is initially beaten, as those movement skills help him recover and also allow him to be rangy in both the run and the pass. Pair that with Lomu’s ability to manipulate defenders with his hands and different punch techniques, and the baseline is there for a quality left tackle.

There’s always a but. In Lomu’s case, he is far from a power player. When he’s pulling and makes contact with a defender, there’s little to no movement– and that’s with a running start. The lack of impact on contact is concerning and would keep me from taking Lomu in the first round.

Could he fill out his frame? That doesn’t look like it’d be an issue. But you are hoping that’s the case. There were enough examples of Lomu being passive where he’s not a prospect I’d be willing to be wrong about if I were a general manager.

27) Monroe Freeling – Georgia

Freeling is 6’7″, 315 pounds, and turns 22 in July. He has only 16 career starts, with 12 in 2025. His inexperience will scare some teams away.

Freeling had a PFF grade of 85.6 against the pass and a 61.7 against the run. His blown block percentage against the pass was the third-highest in the class, while it was 14th as a run blocker. Georgia ran behind Freeling as often as Utah did with Lomu. Freeling allowed an elite pressure rate of only 1.7 percent. He was in a zone scheme 45 percent of the time.

Freeling is a player the Niners should be interested in and one who figures to rise during the draft cycle. I’d rank him higher than anybody else on this list. Give me the guy who understands his assignment. I want the player who gets the job done. That’s Freeling.

He is not perfect. You’ll see Freeling lunge and whiff enough where it’s noticeable. He will fall for some sucker moves that will make you go, “Come on now. You know better than that.” But boy, is there a lot to like.

Freeling understands how to use his arm length to keep edge rushers at bay. He does a good job, for the most part, of maintaining inside-out leverage. There are examples of him recovering when a defender crosses his face. Best of all, he’s active in pass pro. If there isn’t anybody to block, he will find work.

In the run game, Freeling has no issues climbing to take out linebackers. The whiffs happen when he goes to down block a gap over. He’s a step late for whatever reason, which needs to be addressed. But that shouldn’t take away from his quickness, pad level, and the obvious improvement he showed as the season went along.

The mistakes Freeling makes are correctable. His style of play, execution, and high floor, paired with what he can grow into as a player, make Freeling worthy of a late first-round pick.

38) Blake Miller – Clemson

“Scout the player, not the helmet,” is a popular phrase you’ll hear during the draft process. While true, it’s tough to look at this school that isn’t known for offensive linemen being drafted early. An outlier? Be leery of those. Then again, 3,600 collegiate snaps are a sign Miller is ready to play right away.

Miller is 6’6″, 315 pounds, and started the previous four seasons at right tackle for the Tigers. PFF gave him an 83.5 grade against the pass and a 73.3 grade as a run blocker. Miller has the lowest blown block rate against the run of any tackle, and the sixth lowest in pass protection. He’s the “Jack of all trades, master of none” type of player.

Miller won’t wow you in the power department like Proctor. That doesn’t mean he isn’t a competitor. Miller’s awareness will make teams gravitate toward him. He doesn’t get fooled by the game’s defensive lines’ play, and his hand usage will always give Miller a chance to win a rep.

The drawback when you watch Miller is that he does not look like a first-round athlete. Because of that, angles and staying in front of players can be an issue. The top players and prospects have clean footwork, putting them in a position to make plays. That is not Miller, and because of that, he is closer to a third-rounder than a first-rounder.

39) Max Iheanachor – Arizona State

At 6’6″, 330 pounds, Iheanachor is a former soccer and basketball player who found football late. He oozes with athleticism, and you can see the talent. But it might take time to reach his full potential and become a consistent player. He will also be 24 on draft day.

PFF gave him a 78.3 pass blocking grade and a 66.8 run blocking grade. Iheanachor was 10th in blown block percentage against the pass and 17th against the run in this class. Arizona State ran behind him the seventh-most of any class, with the 9th-highest yards before contact per attempt.

My notes about Iheanachor say there are a bunch of reps where he looks unsure of who to block. There are times when he spends too much time on the first level and doesn’t get to the linebacker.

The anchor isn’t an issue. He’s a strong player. There are reps where he gets tremendous depth, which translates to a fluid mover and a plus athlete.

But there are questions about sustaining blocks, the pass rusher making contact first, wide hands on his punch that hurt said anchor, and overall confusion and unrefinement that would make Iheanachor a player you take a swing on at the end of the second round, not the end of the first.

The options on Day 1 will be there, but whether they can contribute to the level the 49ers will need them to is another conversation. To me, Freeling is the long player listed above the 49ers should select on Day 1, and even he is probably outside the top 50 in a quality draft.