The 49ers like the way offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey plays football. When they selected McGlinchey with their first-round pick last week in the NFL draft, it was mainly because he graded out to them as the best player at his position in this crop of college prospects.
But there was more to it than that.
They were equally impressed with McGlinchey off the field, and believe he can be a team leader on this new edition of the rebuilding 49ers.
As Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reported this week, 49ers general manager John Lynch said McGlinchey was terrific in his interview with the team at the NFL combine and called him “one of the smartest players in the draft, off the charts in terms of his presence.”
McGlinchey was selected a team captain twice at Notre Dame, so obviously his teammates respected him. Barrows noted, too, that one NFL scout told a reporter recently that McGlinchey “acts like a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. He’s not a devastating left tackle but he gets his man every time.”
The 6-foot-8, 309-pounder is penciled in to start at right tackle for the 49ers in 2018 now that Trent Brown has been traded. Eventually, McGlinchey could move to the left side when Joe Staley retires or isn’t re-signed after his current contract expires.
One of McGlinchey’s biggest fans is NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock, who rated him the top offensive tackle in this year’s draft. He got to know McGlinchey and watched many of his college games.
Sports
“I’ve been around him when he works out in the weight room,” Mayock told the Philadelphia Inquirer recently. “He’s going to be ready to play. I don’t care if you put him at right tackle or left tackle, he’s going to be ready to play. And, number two, his work ethic and passion for the game of football is unparalleled. So I know what I’m getting with that kid and that’s why I bang the table for him.”
And why the 49ers were so intent on drafting him.
