The 49ers almost certainly will need a new starting left guard this offseason.
The incumbent starter, Aaron Banks, will be a free agent in a few days and is expected to receive an incredibly lucrative contract extension according to The NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
"After the Chiefs placed the franchise tag on Trey Smith, Banks became one of the top guards -- if not the position's headliner -- on the free-agent market," writes Pelissero.
"A second-round pick (No. 48 overall) out of Notre Dame in 2021, Banks allowed just one sack on 471 pass-blocking snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus' charting, while posting a career-high 67.2 PFF grade in 13 starts for the 49ers.
"Last March, the Panthers signed free-agent guard Robert Hunt to a whopping five-year, $100 million deal. If the market is right, Banks could land a contract in a similar range of $18 million to $20 million per season."
That's an insane amount of money for a guard who isn't particularly good.
No offense to Banks, but a 67.2 PFF grade is pretty average. And he never has been to a Pro Bowl despite playing for a high-profile team. Maybe he'll be a better fit on a team that runs more gap scheme runs and less outside zone, but I can't imagine a world in which he lives up to the contract he's going to get.
Which is why it's so important to draft offensive linemen. Even average ones are outrageously expensive on the free agent market, and good ones almost never make it to free agency in the first place because they're too hard to replace.
Expect the 49ers to draft a guard no later than Round 3 this year.
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