One major issue emerging from the 49ers' preseason opener

The San Francisco 49ers' preseason opening loss to the Denver Broncos was quite ugly in plenty of aspects. However, this can be washed away pretty easily. One starter on offense played, and very few defensive contributors saw the field. Still, there is one clear concern on this roster that may end up costing the team every chance they have to win games. That is the backup left tackle. 

It is easy to write off a depth position as a weakness, but when you have a player who is 37 years old and coming off of seven missed games the season prior it may have been smart to at least have some competency behind that player. The 49ers have failed to do that, and it took two series into the preseason to see how glaringly obvious that is. 

Yes, the team signed Andre Dillard, and he has been hurt. However, Dillard has been a bust since he was drafted and can hardly be relied on as an option. So, seeing him missing this time cannot surprise the team. Without Dillard, they have leaned on Spencer Burford, who will make the roster because of his position versatility. However, his play has been subpar so far.

On two straight plays in the preseason opener, Nik Bonitto beat Burford clean off the football and ended the chances of a play for the 49ers before it even started. The plays were ugly, as Bonitto was in the backfield before Burford was able to get off the football..

It was a combination of a lack of burst and awareness. That entire drive was ended because Burford did not stand a chance. 

The 49ers are not going to simply find a competent tackle at this point in the offseason. They are either going to need Dillard to get healthy quickly and see an uptick in play, or they are going to need Burford to look a lot better than he did tonight. 

Bonitto is a quality rusher, but if Williams goes down, Burford is going to see nothing but quality rushers, and teams are going to single him out because he is unproven with poor tape. 

The 49ers went 1-6 when Williams sat last season, and that one win feels pretty optimistic when you consider what the blind side protection could look like if Williams goes down. In a game that was rather meaningless, this should be a fear in the back of fans' heads.