Most mock drafts during this past cycle had the San Francisco 49ers selecting an offensive tackle in one of the first three rounds. Analysts were convinced that the Niners wanted to upgrade in the immediate future or find a replacement for Trent Williams down the line.
Not only was that not the case, but the 49ers only used one of their 11 picks on an offensive lineman, and it was their second to last pick in the seventh round.
General manager John Lynch said, “There were a number of times that we were interested in adding, and it just didn’t come our way. And you’ve got to stay true to where you have guys graded, not take guys just to take them but to take guys that you’re interested in at that point. And it just never really aligned.”
The 49ers weren’t in a position to draft an offensive lineman in the first round after tackles Armand Membou and Kelvin Banks were drafted in front of them. We should’ve known they didn’t prioritize offensive in general in this draft when they selected Alfred Collins in the second round.
The icing on the cake was a linebacker to begin the third round. Interestingly enough, only four offensive linemen were drafted in the third round. I believe that speaks volumes to the talent level of this class at that position and why we didn’t see the Niners use any of their top 100 picks on one.
There was no way to undersell how thin and largely untalented the defensive line was headed into the draft. We knew defensive line would have multiple additions, and that’s precisely what happened.
Lynch continued, saying, “There were a number of times Kyle [Shanahan] and I were talking about that at the end that just didn’t align, one of those deals, and you don’t want to force things. And so, it wasn’t our time for that other than Connor, and we’ll move forward.”
Now that the draft is over, the Niners could sign a free agent without being penalized in the comp pick formula. The list of free agents isn’t all that appealing. Then again, when Shanahan was asked who the swing tackle would be, he couldn’t give a straight answer, saying, “We don’t tell you all our plans, so we’ll see.”
In the first year of Colton McKivitz as a starter, the 49ers had their most prolific offensive season during the Shanahan era. Statistically, McKivitz improved against the run and the pass from Year 1 to Year 2. McKivitz has one year left on his extension. It’s a prove-it year for McKivitz, but 2025 is his.
May the best man win between Ben Bartch, Matt Hennessy, and whoever else gets thrown into the fire — Austen Pleasants and Spencer Burford will duke it out for the swing tackle spot.
If the argument for drafting an offensive lineman earlier is, “One injury away,” well, the same is true for Dee Winters, who was on the injury report more often than not last year. And drafting a safety/nickel type in the third and fourth rounds made a whole lot of sense after we found out about Malik Mustapha’s injury that could cause him to miss upwards to half of 2025.
Could the 49ers have selected somebody for depth purposes along the offensive line earlier? Sure. But Robert Saleh was the one who needed to inject talent at multiple levels of the defense. The 49ers needed to draft two defensive linemen with their first two picks for the argument “one injury away” to be equal on that side of the trenches.
This has never been a team driven by its offensive line. The same cannot be true when you’re talking about the defensive line.
