49ers OL Coach says Jaylon Moore is a Starting-Caliber Left Tackle

Unfortunately for the 49ers, Moore will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, so if he continues to play well, the 49ers may not be able to afford to keep him.

Jan 7, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers guard Jaylon Moore (right) blocks Los Angeles Rams linebacker Michael Hoecht (97) during the third quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

When Trent Williams went down for the season with an ankle injury four weeks ago, some people probably thought Brock Purdy would be running for his life.

But through four games, Williams' replacement, fourth-year tackle Jaylon Moore, has given up zero sacks and just one quarterback hit. Turns out he's a solid starting offensive tackle. And he has been wasting away on the bench since the 49ers took him in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Unfortunately for the 49ers, Moore will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, so if he continues to play well, the 49ers may not be able to afford to keep him.

Here's what 49ers offensive line coach Chris Foerster said this week about Moore, courtesy of the 49ers' p.r. department.

Q: What have you gotten from Jaylon Moore? How do you feel about just how he has stepped in from the bench?

FOERSTER: “Jaylon’s done a good job. Last week his hip started bothering him in warmups, so last week probably wasn't as good a game as he's had in some of the other two. He's done a good job. There's a lot of things he can still work on to be better. Starting consistently week after week becomes an issue as always. They start getting a book on you, things you're doing that you need to fix and work on to get better. He held it his own last week and did a good job.”

Q: I think maybe the first time he got real playing time was against Denver in 2021, at Denver. It didn't go well. Naturally he's gotten better since, but has it been leaps and bounds just as far as his growth?

FOERSTER: “Well, I think it's gotten better. Leaps and bounds is measured, but he's doing a good job. He’s doing a good job. Has he proven to be an upper echelon starter in the National Football League? Probably not at this point. Is he in middle of the pack down to second? Where's he rank one to 32 or 64 starters in the League at tackle? Where does he fit in that thing? I think he is somewhere in there. I don't think he's outside the realm of starting. He's ideal as a swing guy, obviously because you have a guy that can step in and play at a starting level because he has done that through these years he's played. Obviously he's replacing a guy that's been a really, really good player through the course of his career. But he's done a good job. For a guy that everybody thought was going to play guard where we drafted him and he ended up playing tackle, I think it's been good. And I don't think you set the bar that low just because of where he came in the League, but I do think it's been good. I wish it could be better. I do think there's always a perspective of winning and losing and the losses, bad plays become magnified and in the wins, they're somewhat glossed over sometimes. So as a whole, he's been good. He still has room to improve.”

Q: Can he still be a guard?

FOERSTER: “That’s why we have him at tackle. I’m not saying he couldn't, but he's never had a chance to really compete at right tackle because he always backed up to [T] Trent [Williams] at the left and Trent at training camp has always been in and out. Moving him inside to play guard, we want him to compete when we've had some open guard spots. But the same thing, it's hard to get him in there to be able to compete. What I saw in him when we got him here, I always think if a guy can play tackle, leave him at tackle and move him in if he can't. That's always been my philosophy, right or wrong. I think there is something as far as Jaylon the way he's built, quickness, speed, that quick twitch, it's a little bit more important sometimes inside than out. That explosiveness that Jaylon has, sometimes a little bit slower getting going than in some other guys. So I think what I've seen from him I think he's more of a tackle than a guard.”

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