Cornerback D’Shawn Jamison was the first 49ers undrafted rookie to stand out in training camp. The Texas product received praise from wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, general manager John Lynch and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. After the Jamison love there wasn’t much noise coming from this year’s undrafted rookie group. Then offensive lineman Ilm Manning got a chance to play.
“They all had first game issues,” offensive line coach/run game coordinator Chris Foerster said in a press conference when asked about the undrafted offensive linemen. “They didn’t play as well as they could have. There were some mental errors, there were some physical breakdowns. Of the three guys, Ilm’s really played very well this camp. And in the preseason game.”
Manning started 60 of the 62 games he played at left tackle for the University of Hawaii. His 6-2, 294-pound frame will mean his long-term future in the NFL will come inside at guard or center and not his natural tackle spot.
Foerster explained how Manning has put together a strong camp as a tackle, as well as some of the challenges he’ll face with a move to the interior.
“He’s got really good bend, flexibility, balance, things that you need inside,” Foerster said. “He’s got good quickness. He’ll have to learn. It’s quicker; things happen, the steps have to be shorter. [OL Spencer] Burford goes through it a little bit still. He still sometimes kicks bigger like a tackle and needs to keep his feet underneath him a little more under control, like a guard. So, it’s more of a quickness and I don’t want to say quickness, it’s more of just your footwork has to be, everything has to happen a little bit quicker at guard. And that’s what Ilm will have to learn if he ever makes that transition in.”
The 49ers offensive line depth is not one of the roster’s strong suits, although that’s true of virtually every NFL club. If they did find a capable starter or backup in the undrafted rookie pool, even if he spends a year on the practice squad, it would do wonders to improve one of the only truly weak areas of San Francisco’s loaded roster.
