The 49ers don’t have many open questions along the starting offensive line. Left tackle is the big one. But behind Trent Williams and Colton McKivitz, the depth chart gets murky fast, and that’s where the real competition starts to matter.
San Francisco spent one of its late April draft picks on Kansas offensive lineman Enrique Cruz Jr., banking on his speed and athletic ability as a developmental swing tackle. That pick gives the Niners a young option, but it also leaves them needing a safety net if Cruz doesn’t come through in camp and the preseason.
That’s where Brandon Parker enters the picture.
Parker looks like the fallback if Cruz Jr. doesn’t seize the job. He first joined the 49ers in the spring of 2024, but he didn’t make the 53-man roster that year. After that, he signed with the Atlanta Falcons before coming back to San Francisco on the practice squad in October of 2025.
The veteran’s résumé is built on experience. His last regular-season action came in 2023 with the Las Vegas Raiders, the team he spent most of his career with after they drafted him in Round 3 in 2018 out of North Carolina A&T. Parker has played in 59 games and started 33 of them.
The numbers, though, explain why he’s not being handed anything. Pro Football Focus credited him with 22 sacks allowed over that five-year stretch, and his overall grade never climbed above 57.4.
That helps explain the contract San Francisco gave him: one year, $1.075 million, with no guaranteed money. If Cruz proves himself in camp, Parker can be moved on from before Week 1 without any real cap fallout.
That’s the setup the 49ers probably prefer. Cruz is the upside play.
Parker is the insurance policy. And for Parker to stick, the rookie would have to flame out.
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49ers Quietly Have A Trent Williams Problem Fans Know Too Well
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That matters in San Francisco because Williams availability has been an issue for years, with at least one missed start in every season since 2020. Pleasants also comes at minimal cost, sitting on a veteran minimum deal with no guaranteed money, which gives the team flexibility but also underscores how thin the margin is if the 49ers are forced to lean on that spot again. [Read more 🡒]