What a difference a season made for San Francisco 49ers right tackle Colton McKivitz.
The veteran offensive lineman made his debut on Pro Football Focus' (PFF) list of the top 101 players of the 2025 NFL season, checking in at No. 63 — notably ahead of quarterback Brock Purdy, who ranked No. 81.
"The dominant ground-game blocker was one of four offensive tackles to earn a PFF run-blocking grade above 90.0 in 2025," the PFF team wrote.
McKivitz's 84.2 overall offensive grade and 90.4 run-blocking grade in 2025 marked significant jumps from his 72.2 and 68.6 marks, respectively, in 2024. His development in the run game played a key role in his rise up the rankings.
While he wasn't as dominant in pass protection, McKivitz remained steady. He has earned at least a 72.6 pass-blocking grade in three of the past four seasons and has allowed just six sacks across 1,385 pass-blocking snaps over the last two years.
"He wasn't quite as effective as a pass blocker, but his 72.6 PFF pass-blocking grade was still good enough to rank 31st among 75 offensive tackles who played at least 400 snaps in 2025," PFF added.
The 49ers rewarded McKivitz by signing him to a three-year, $45 million extension in September 2025, securing him through the 2028 season.
San Francisco selected McKivitz (6-6, 301) out of West Virginia in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Since entering the league, McKivitz has appeared in 79 games with 56 starts, including 51 consecutive starts anchoring the right side of the 49ers' offensive line. He is preparing to enter his seventh NFL season.
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