49ers mailbag: What’s the O-line’s problem? Is Jimmy G done? Is it Dak Prescott time?

The 49ers through five games are having the year from, well, 2020.

Somehow the defending NFC champs are 0-3 at home having lost three games to teams that were underdogs by at least a touchdown, and now comes the toughest seven-game stretch of the schedule against teams that are 25-6 combined.

It’s not looking good, which means we had a lot of interesting questions asked for this week’s mailbag. Let’s get to them!

Chris asks: Is the problem with the offensive line just a result of chemistry or do the problems in pass protection and running the ball run deeper than simply not playing together as a unit?

It’s a difficult question to answer because we rarely get to speak to offensive linemen these days, both on or off the record, given all the access we have is limited to Zoom calls. (Reporters yearn for the days of open locker rooms.) And despite two captains on the offensive line — Trent Williams and Mike McGlinchey — neither were made available to reporters after the last two games.

My best guess is the 49ers are facing more unique defensive fronts and blitzes than recent seasons which has stressed the offensive lines in ways they aren’t used. Add in they have two new full-time starters in Williams and Daniel Brunskill at right guard, the transition hasn’t been smooth. Plus, the team is operating with its backup center, Ben Garland, in place of the highly-paid Weston Richburg, who won’t be eligible to come off the physically-unable-to-perform list until after Sunday’s Rams game.

Add all that with the defense getting torched in the first half Sunday, leading to abandoning the running game, and you have a perfect storm of negative factors impacting the offensive line.

That said, this group should be much better than the way it’s playing. If things don’t improve, expect the offensive line to have a much different look next year.

Ryan asks: Last season the Niners traded for Emmanuel Sanders and the offense took off. Is there a defensive player the Niners could trade for to have a similar effect on the defense? (DB/DE?)

Perhaps someone like Washington’s Ryan Kerrigan would make sense to add help to the pass rush. At cornerback, maybe Logan Ryan from the Giants?

But I wonder if it would make sense for San Francisco to be buyers at the deadline rather than sellers. It seems to me, given the unlikelihood of a deep playoff run, the 49ers would be better off trying to accumulate as many draft picks as possible rather than sending them away.

Though the problem with that is: How many guys do they have that would net anything of value? What is Dante Pettis worth given he has exactly zero catches this season? No team would want to touch Dee Ford given his expensive contract and uncertain status with his back injury.

Richard Sherman? No. Trent Williams? Would the 49ers really want to move off a left tackle while they’re trying to figure out the future of Jimmy Garoppolo?

It all points to things looking quiet at the trade deadline for Kyle Shanahan’s bunch. Remember, Shanahan thought the 49ers were the best team in the NFL last season and adding a receiver would put them over the top. There’s no way Shanahan can look at his team with that same mindset in 2020.

Josh asks: With knowing the schedule gauntlet ahead of them, in combination with their health and current team performance, is having a top 10 pick a reality for the Niners? Top 5 pick?

The Cleveland Browns picked 10th last season after finishing 6-10. The Denver Broncos had the 10th pick with a 7-9 finish in 2019 (which they traded to the Steelers to take Devin Bush). The Raiders had the 10th pick in 2018 after finishing 6-10 which they traded to Arizona who drafted Josh Rosen.

Suffice to say, 6-10 is the neighborhood to be in for a top-10 pick. It’s certainly a possibility given the 49ers have to finish the season 6-5 just to finish 8-8. And that seems like a really tough task given they only have two of their 11 remaining games left against teams that are currently below .500.

So a top-10 pick could certainly be in the cards, particularly if Garoppolo struggles to stay healthy and the defense doesn’t take a major step forward. A top-five pick would probably mean finishing with four wins or fewer. It’s not off the table.

Jarvis asks: Is there any smoke to the rumors that the Niners could move on from Jimmy G after the season? If so, who would be some good options? Dak Prescott, maybe?

There’s always been a chance given the contract situation. And if the 49ers finish with a top-10 draft pick, as outlined above, it would be realistic they look at the available quarterbacks.

The team would be wise to see how the season plays out. Keep in mind, as Shanahan said Monday, the 49ers have had exactly one practice with their entire offense together. Raheem Mostert, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Garoppolo have only practiced together, as a group, once all year since training camp began.

That’s not an excuse for the poor performance, but it illustrates how much this team has been compromised by injuries on that side of the ball. And they don’t have the horses on defense this year to make up for it.

Let’s see how the rest of the season plays out. If it’s clear Garoppolo regresses to a point beyond fixing where he doesn’t regain his second-half form from 2019, then it becomes a real question. If Garoppolo plays well, then you stick with him and hope the rest of the roster can stay healthy enough for another run in 2021.

As far as Prescott goes, a change of scenery coming off the serious injury would be a big undertaking, and it’s unclear exactly what his market would look like. He was playing at a high level before the injury so I’d imagine his camp would want a contract in the $30 million a year range, which is significantly more than Garoppolo, who’s due to make $26.9 and $27 million over the final two years of his deal. And there are big questions about what the salary cap will be set at because of the impact of COVID-19 on league revenues.

If the 49ers decide to draft a quarterback, Justin Fields and Trey Lance could make sense. Both are more mobile than Garoppolo and perhaps more dynamic, but neither has Garoppolo’s experience in the system or ability to throw from the pocket, yet. Maybe Shanahan would dramatically remake his offense to take advantage of an elusive quarterback like he did with Robert Griffin III in Washington.

We’ll have to see. But I think it’s too early to make that call — and I wouldn’t base that decision based on how Garoppolo played on a bad ankle behind a bad offensive line Sunday.

Andrew Kerr asks: Besides health, what do you believe it will take for the 49ers to still make the playoffs?

A miracle? Other teams dealing with as many injuries as the 49ers are?

It seems unlikely, but this team could have a turnaround coming. Remember, there are seven playoffs seeds this year and the Rams would have made it under the new format last season at 9-7. The 49ers would have to go 7-4 the rest of the way to hit that record. The 49ers are only a game behind the 3-2 teams tied for the last playoff spot, at the moment.

I don’t know how that would happen or what it would look like. But I also didn’t know how the team that went to the Super Bowl last season could start 0-3 at home with losses to the Cardinals, Eagles and Dolphins. So maybe something completely unexpected will happen.

This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 7:15 AM.