Ex-NFL OT says 49ers lack confidence in ability to draft key position
· Yahoo Sports
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have done a considerable job turning the franchise into a perennial contender during their time together. However, former NFL offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth revealed one area the duo lacks that could hurt their club's long-term future: Investing premium draft capital in the offensive line.
The Lynch-Shanahan braintrust hasn't used a first- or second-round pick on a lineman since Aaron Banks went No. 48 overall in 2021. The only other lineman taken in the first round since 2017 was Mike McGlinchey in 2018, who also departed in free agency after seven season.
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While this hasn't hurt the 49ers' offensive line as a whole (the team still fields a top-eight unit by consensus rankings), Whitworth believes NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco that the 49ers' reluctance to use high-end draft capital underscores a lack of faith in their ability to identify top-tier talent. And, the former three-time Pro Bowl tackle and Super Bowl champion believes that decision will ultimately become a problem for the franchise when their star tackle Trent Williams is no longer protecting the blindside.
“When you’re going to allocate a first-round pick or second-round pick to an offensive lineman, a lot of people love that theory, but you better be damn good at picking it," Whitworth said. "Because when you hit on an offensive lineman, it can be unbelievable for your franchise early in the draft because a great offensive line, a great D-line is the story to successful football teams. But when you miss on a high pick like that … you draft an unproductive lineman, you are cooked because now you’re getting a second, third, fourth-tier lineman who’s going to have to play."
The 49ers have deployed a different approach in their offensive line construction. Their anchor player is Williams, who was a seven-time Pro Bowler before San Francisco traded for him in 2020. The rest of the unit was added with Day 2 or Day 3 picks, while centerJake Brendel was a free agent who went undrafted in 2016 before joining the team in 2021.
But, as Whitworth noted, this is also part of the problem. The team's reliance on Williams and lack of investment in top offensive line talent around him has already borne out in the win-loss record when Williams is on the field. In eight games without Williams, the 49ers are 1-7. But in the 40 games with Williams, San Francisco is 31-9.
“They’ve had arguably — what I would consider in my opinion — the greatest of all time in Trent Williams as their left tackle,” Whitworth said. “But when he’s gone, we are going to have to draft a guy. We are going to have to develop some young guys that become elite guys if we want to continue to have success, because a lot of their offensive success has been built around Trent. If you look at their team when he’s not in there, there’s a huge difference and fall-off in their production offensively.”
The 49ers' other draft investments on the line haven't worked out much apart from the current crop or the ones who already left. The other three starters in Dominick Puni, Connor Colby and Colton McKivitz were taken in the third, fourth and fifth rounds, respectively, while Day 3 picks like Jaylon Moore (fifth round, 2021), Nick Zakelj (sixth round 2022), Jarrett Kingston (fifth round, 2024) and Justin Skule (sixth round, 2019) never amounted to much. This year's additions, fourth-rounder Carver Willis and fifth-rounder Enrique Cruz, could have roles, but could also easily just be backups.
Add it up, and the 49ers' offensive line room under Lynch has leaned almost entirely on quantity over premium investment. This is the lack of faith Whitworth is describing, and one the 49ers will have to contend with when the 38-year-old Williams eventually finishes up his NFL career.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Ex-NFL OT says 49ers lack confidence in ability to draft key position