One of the bigger shockers from the San Francisco 49ers' 2025 NFL Draft class is they only opted to grab one offensive lineman, guard Connor Colby, and that didn't take place until Round 7.
Passing on an offensive tackle, particularly with an aging Trent Williams on the left side and pending 2026 free agent on the other in Colton McKivitz, was something of a surprise.
Yet the Niners soon pivoted, grabbing two veteran tackles on the free-agent market not long after the draft. Early reports indicated San Francisco was signing longtime veteran D.J. Humphries, but apparently no deal was reached, leading the 49ers to fall back upon signing tackles Nicholas Petit-Frere and Andre Dillard.
Petit-Frere didn't last long on the roster, finding himself released in subsequent moves.
But Dillard is there. And he might be the unsung X-factor in the Niners' open-ended battle for a swing tackle.
Andre Dillard quietly climbing toward 49ers' primary swing tackle spot
The context for inking Dillard, a first-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2019, was set in motion by the free-agent loss of Jaylon Moore, who now has a starter's job with the Kansas City Chiefs after signing there last March.
Dillard, who'll turn 30 years old this season, lasted four years in Philly but never quite cut it as a starting-caliber player, and his subsequent campaigns with the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans weren't exactly impressive either.
But, there's a small detail that reveals why the former Washington State lineman has a leg up over his competition to replace Moore on the depth chart.
Not long after the draft, and before Dillard was officially on the Niners roster, head coach Kyle Shanahan was quite coy about his team's plans for a swing tackle.
Check out the transcribed interaction between Shanahan and a reporter, shared by Sports Illustrated's Grant Cohn:
“We don't tell you all our plans, so we'll see," Shanahan said.
"Okay, how about this?" A reporter asked. "Seems like Austen Pleasants or Spencer Burford, are those your top two options on the current roster?"
"Yeah, I would say so," Shanahan answered. "We haven't even gone out with our players yet, but we had those guys at the end of last year and they're both tackles. Spencer's been a guard for us, but he could play swing tackle and started a lot of games for us at guard, but definitely has ability to play tackle. We got Austen at the end of last year, who closed out the season when we had some injuries. I believe it was two games at tackle, did a decent job."
Shanahan didn't want to commit, and that's fine.
But, when Dillard signed his one-year veteran's minimum deal with San Francisco, he was given $315,000 in guaranteed money, per Over the Cap.
That's a lot for a mere training camp/preseason body who's merely pushing other players like Burford and Pleasants. The latter would carry zero in dead money, if waived, while Burford would carry a shade over $168,000 in what's the final year of his rookie contract.
This suggests Dillard has the best shot of them all to hang around. And if that kind of cash winds up in him getting a primary backup job to support both Williams and McKivitz, it's actually a relatively cheap addition.
From the money perspective alone, Dillard already seems to be the favorite to win the swing tackle role by Week 1.
