Week 1 was a tough assignment for new 49ers right tackle Colton McKivitz, who was on an island with former Defensive Player of the Year TJ Watt more than once against the Steelers.
Watt tallied three sacks, all allowed by McKivitz. The right tackle also allowed five of the 15 pressures generated by the Steelers pass rush.
Buy 49ers TicketsDespite a rough first game for McKivitz, head coach Kyle Shanahan isn’t worried about his new right tackle in part because of the nature of the matchup.
“He had the toughest matchup on the field,” Shanahan said in a Monday conference call. “There was definitely a number that Watt got him. There’s a couple situations we could have helped him out better with some chips and stuff. He battled throughout it, but did good enough for us to win. It was a huge challenge going against that player.”
Shanahan went on to say he believes McKivitz “kept battling and I think he’ll do better next week.”
The 49ers will need an improvement from their starting RT over the next few weeks. While Watt is a tough matchup, he’s not the only All-Pro caliber edge rusher on their schedule.
In Week 5 they’ll face the Cowboys and LB Micah Parsons. In Week 6 they take on the Browns and DEs Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith. Week 7 the 49ers visit the Vikings and DE Danielle Hunter.
If McKivitz hasn’t improved by then, those games could become significantly more difficult and it may force the 49ers to explore a change. For now though they’re going to ride the 2020 fifth-round pick in hopes he develops into a reliable option opposite Trent Williams.
