The San Francisco 49ers face uncertainty at left tackle, given Trent Williams’s age, injury history, and future in the NFL. Also, their swing tackle depth weakened after losing Jaylon Moore to the Kansas City Chiefs and Charlie Heck to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Because of this, the 49ers could select their left tackle of the future with the 11th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
San Francisco 49ers hosting elite offensive tackle prospect
According to Grant Cohn of Sports Illustrated, the 49ers will host the Texas Longhorns’ elite left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. for a Top-30 visit. Banks is considered one of the top tackle prospects in the upcoming draft. Many analysts have him mocked as the 49ers’ 11th pick.
Report: #49ers to Host Texas OT Kelvin Banks Jr. on Top-30 Visit https://t.co/U2JpHPz37P
— Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) April 4, 2025
He had a great career with Texas
Kelvin Banks Jr. committed to the Texas Longhorns as a five-star recruit for the 2022 season. Banks had a great career with Texas, winning the left tackle job as a freshman and starting 42 of 43 games in his three seasons. His accolades include being named Second Team All-Big-12 in 2022, First Team All-Big-12 in 2023, First Team All-SEC, First Team All-American, and winning the Lombardi Trophy and the Outland Trophy in 2024.
Banks arguably had his best season during his junior year, allowing the fewest pressures and hurries while improving in run blocking. He gave up ten pressures, seven hurries, two QB hits, and one sack in 15 games. He also posted a career-high 89.9 pass blocking, an 81.0 run blocking, and an 86.2 overall PFF grade.
Here’s Lance Zierlein’s scouting report on Kelvin Banks Jr.
“Three-year starter who has gone to battle in the trenches with current and future pros. Banks will come into the league as an early starter but his run blocking is more pro-ready than his pass protection.
“He’s technically sound and scrappy in the ground game, with the quickness and athleticism to get to all move blocks. He has the leverage and strain to hold his own at the point.
“Banks has the slide quickness to deal with speed, but he must become more proactive in attacking power rushers and long-limbed attackers to prevent them from dictating the terms. He needs to improve his anchor and hand placement but he should become a long-time NFL starter at either tackle or guard.”
Zierlein predicts that Banks will become a good starter within his first two years in the NFL.
