The 49ers are interested in free agent Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis, according to John Clatyon of ESPN.
Mathis played the past two seasons under Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach Chip Kelly, whose running game features zone blocking. Mathis was one of the best zone blockers in the NFL.
The past few seasons under head coach Jim Harbaugh, the 49ers primarily used gap blocking – lots of power runs and counter runs. So far this offseason far during OTAs and minicamp, the Niners have been practicing mostly zone-blocking plays.
I asked quarterbacks coach Steve Logan about this change last Thursday.