Former Irish offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers with the No. 9 overall pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday night.
McGlinchey followed former teammate Quenton Nelson off the board as the second offensive lineman to be selected in the draft, although the Philadelphia native was also the first offensive tackle off the board in this year’s draft.
Playing left tackle for the Irish this past season, McGlinchey started all 13 games and was an Associated Press (AP) first-team All-American, anchoring the left side of this year’s Joe Moore award-winning line with Nelson. McGlinchey was also a second-team All-American in 2016, when he started all 12 games at left tackle for the Irish. He was the eighth offensive tackle to be taken in the first round in Notre Dame’s history, following the footsteps of Ronnie Stanley, who was the sixth pick of the 2016 NFL Draft.
With both McGlinchey and Nelson being selected in the top 10 of this year’s draft, the duo became the first pair of Irish offensive lineman drafted in the top-10 picks of an NFL Draft in Notre Dame’s history. They were the first pair of Irish offensive lineman drafted in the first round since 1967 when guard Paul Seiler was drafted 12th overall by the New York Jets and guard Tom Regner was drafted 23rd overall by the Houston Oilers.
McGlinchey is expected to compete for the starting job at right tackle, where he played during his junior season before transitioning to the left side for his last two seasons at Notre Dame, with current 49ers right tackle Trent Brown. Brown is currently recovering from shoulder surgery and expected to miss the team’s offseason program, and his contract expires at the end of the upcoming season. On the left side, the 49ers have Joe Staley, who has been named to six Pro Bowls and been second-team All-Pro three times during his career.
