Shortly after Trent Williams announced news of his re-signing with the 49ers in the wee hours of Wednesday, he tagged former Falcons center Alex Mack in an Instagram story. About an hour after that, the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Mack — a pending free agent — was expected to sign with the 49ers after the new league year begins Wednesday. Terms of the deal are not yet publicly known.
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How he fits
Mack will turn 36 in November and he’s no longer at the top of his game, but the fact that he earned a spot on the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2010s after playing under Kyle Shanahan — then an offensive coordinator — at two stops in Cleveland and Atlanta is a huge factor here. Mack has delivered airtight pass protection and cohesively organized the outside-zone blocking efforts of Shanahan’s run game in the past.
Shanahan obviously values Mack’s familiarity with his scheme. He also believes Mack has enough left in the tank to bring renewed cohesion to a 49ers offensive line that struggled to pick up interior pressure without starting center Weston Richburg in 2020.
The 49ers expect Richburg, who has undergone three surgeries since he last suited up for the 49ers in late 2019, to retire. That left Mack as an obvious short-term candidate to fill the vacuum at center.
2021 impact
Although Mack may have lost a step since his dominant prime, he’s still a solid pass protector who allowed only one sack over 633 pass-blocking snaps in 2020, per TruMedia. Mack will mark a surefire improvement for a 49ers center situation that endured a few disasters in 2020. By the end of the season, the 49ers were starting their fourth-string center, Daniel Brunskill. This also created a big issue at right guard, Brunskill’s original position.
Mack’s presence should stabilize the 49ers’ offensive line by establishing a knowledgeable fixture at center while allowing the other four linemen to settle into their roles.
“It really helps solidify the whole O-line,” Shanahan said in 2018 of the importance of having a trusted center back. “I feel that’s usually where it starts. There’s a lot of good players, but when you have a difference-maker at that position, it’s been a lot easier to run an offense.”
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Mack has started all 16 regular-season games in 10 of his 12 NFL seasons, so he’s proven to be durable. That’s key for the 49ers, who have been so ravaged by injuries that have not spared the offensive line over the past few seasons. A steadying hand in the middle of the front can help Shanahan’s offense maintain the balance that has been elusive as of late.
Draft impact
From Mack to Richburg, Shanahan teams have shown a proclivity to acquire and play veterans at center. The system is generally considered too cerebrally challenging for rookies to be entrusted with all the complex pre-snap calls it requires.
Since Mack is approaching the end of his career, the 49ers may be interested in drafting his successor. A prospect like Oklahoma’s Creed Humphrey, who seems to have the athleticism necessary to make the difficult blocks required from a center in Shanahan’s system, could theoretically be Mack’s understudy in 2021. Analysts expect Humphrey to be selected anywhere between the second and fourth rounds.
Cap update
The terms of Mack’s deal are not yet known. However, due to his age, it’s been assumed that Mack would sign only a short-term deal with a salary-cap hit of around $5 million. There are many unknown moving pieces in the 49ers’ cap situation, but such a deal for Mack would leave the team with roughly $15 million in 2021 cap space.
Outlook
This was a necessary addition for the 49ers’ offensive line, which ranked No. 26 in ESPN’s pass-block win rate over the past two seasons. In general, the 49ers have done well in run-blocking but have struggled in pass protection. The latter has cost them several games and possibly even the Super Bowl to close the 2019 season.
The 49ers must improve their ability to block the interior rush in 2021, and Mack is a trusted talent to help the overall cause at a position of particular need. Mack may be older, but he fits the scheme and the 49ers have every reason to believe the Cal product has at least one more productive year in him — especially playing in a familiar environment.
(Photo: John Hefti / Associated Press)
