49ers Face Major Criticism Over Decision With Crucial Position

Getty

(Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)

Apart from Trent Williams, the San Francisco 49ers have seldom pursued big-name offensive linemen in the Kyle Shanahan era. Instead, they’ve favored a cost-effective approach through the draft or making shrewd free-agent signings.

Moreover, this approach has allowed the 49ers to spend their money elsewhere on offense, whether it’s paying the likes of Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Christian McCaffery, and Brandon Aiyuk.

The Athletic’s Robert Mays warns that Shanahan and Co.’s approach to building an offensive line, successful in the past, could now be coming back to haunt San Francisco.

“Just this idea that the pass protection isn’t going to be good enough when they get to January—that’s always keeping me up with this team based on the way that they treat this position group,” Mays said on “The Athletic Football Show.”

“I’m even a little bit more worried about it now than I have been over the last couple of years, because there’s been attrition, talent-wise, among this group.”

Could Letting Talent on the Offensive Line Cost the 49ers?

The 49ers have allowed offensive linemen to walk when they get too expensive for their taste, and the latest example of this is Aaron Banks. After four years in the Bay Area, Banks left San Francisco to sign with the Green Bay Packers.

“I don’t think Aaron Banks is a perfect player by any stretch, but the fact that they moved on from Aaron Banks and it’s like, all right, Ben Bartch, you’re up now—that is how this team approaches these positions,” Mays added.

“You’re the best lineman that you have outside of Trent Williams, who is now creeping closer and closer to 40 every year, and I worry about him staying healthy, is Dominick Puni, who’s coming into this season hurt after looking really good last year as a rookie.”

Does the Approach to Offensive Linemen Have Flaws?

May ended his rant on the 49ers’ approach to building their offensive line, stating that because some of these players aren’t at the level of a Williams, it can often come back to cost them, maybe not in the regular season, but definitely in the playoffs.

“I think the baseline for this offensive line is concerning, let alone if they get dinged up a little bit,” May said. “And this group, and what they’ve always said about it is, we’d rather have pass catchers and weapons. We can scheme around the offensive line. That is often true for 17, even sometimes 19 games a year. Then they get into the playoffs, and a defensive coordinator like [Steve Spagnuolo] is able to pick on this team and pass protection because of the way that they’re constructed…

“It just makes me a little bit uneasy that the players they have up front aren’t going to be good enough in the biggest games of the year. I think they might be good enough for this team to win 11 games in the NFC West, but if your aspirations are bigger than that, I think that’s where I start to get a little bit concerned.”

Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports journalist covering the NFL for Heavy.com. He previously covered the league for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has contributed as a freelance writer for The Sporting News. He also served as an editor for Athlon Sports and Heavy Sports focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo