The last time the 49ers needed a starting left guard, they drafted Aaron Banks in Round 2.
Now, Banks is on the Green Bay Packers and the 49ers need to replace him. So if Alabama's Tyler Booker were to drop to Round 2, would the 49ers take him?
Booker is similar to Banks in the sense that both are bigger guards who don't move so well laterally but are powerful. In fact, a better comparison for Booker might be a young Mike Iupati, whom the 49ers drafted with the 17th pick in 2010.
Iupati was a perfect fit for Jim Harbaugh's offense. But would Booker fit Kyle Shanahan's scheme?
Shanahan generally wants offensive linemen who are quick and agile, but Banks didn't fit those criteria. Neither did his predecessor, Laken Tomlinson, who was powerful, not quick. That's because the 49ers want their left guard to be a drive blocker who can create movement at the point of attack when the 49ers run inside zone plays.
Booker is the most powerful drive blocker in the upcoming draft. He could do what Banks did for the 49ers even better.
I have a feeling that Booker actually is ranked quite high on the 49ers' draft board. But he might not be ranked as high as Arizona guard Jonah Savaiinaea, who's just as big as Booker and much more athletic than him.
If the 49ers have the choice between the two, I'd imagine they would take Savaiinaea. But if he's gone, I think they would take Booker.
