49ers Offensive Line

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by SmokeyJoe:
Our most recent higher draft pick investment suggests Kyle isn't stuck on drafting smaller athletic lineman ideally fit for the zone scheme.

That's true. TW is his (and everybody's) ideal and Banks is a big strong boy. I'm curious if they go that route again at RG this year...not giving up on Burford of course. I'm very curious what they do at C and T in terms of bringing in legit challenging talent.

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Originally posted by Giedi:
Disagree, Burford is big, but still athletic. Zakelj is Kye's typical Outside Zone run blocker. Problem with Burford is his mental game still needs work. He's still not picking up his assignments. Granted, he's just in his first/2nd year at playing, and I do hope he continues to grow, but I think Burford is more a zone blocker than a gap/power type Lineman. I can see him being a Laken Tomlinson on the right side - but clearly not this year.
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/spencer-burford/32004255-5205-4996-13f9-5da6af74dbe3

[Burford] Long-armed guard/tackle prospect who is fueled by energy and athletic ability. Burford has the foot quickness and agility teams are looking for as a move blocker but his play can be rushed and unfocused, which can turn a win into a loss on any given rep. He needs to add muscle mass and drop the pad level, but has enough bend in his lower half to become a more consistent drive blocker with technique work. He can do a better job of uncorking a stiffer punch into rushers but he gets the most out of his length in pass protection and has the recovery athleticism to make up for missteps. Burford's physical traits and positional flexibility give him a head start in chasing a roster spot

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/nick-zakelj/32005a41-4b41-5291-1379-49d89d7d5d61

[Zakelj]Decorated four-year starting tackle with NFL-caliber size and traits. Zakelj plays with strain and aggression. However, his block sustain and finish are occasionally derailed by modest knee bend and core strength at the point of attack. Athletic feet and reactive athleticism allow him to stay connected to outside edge speed or inside counters in his pass sets. Despite his foot agility, he is just average in getting three-techniques reached on backside zone blocks, but there is a noticeable pop into initial contact when coming off the ball and getting downhill. Field toughness, an NFL frame and pass protection ability give Zakelj a shot as a swing tackle with the potential to develop into a bigger contributor.

Feliciano, I think, is a signal that Kyle is *possibly* experimenting with bigger linemen on the right side, and maybe exploring more gap power to the right side. Him, Pryor and Bartch are big - and do look like good Gap/power guys, with a nice mixture of athleticism. Still, losing all that athleticism, I think, will weaken Kyle's zone run. However, I think the development of Brock Purdy might offset that weakness - if Kyle goes to a more pass first kind of scheme. We shall see.

You missed our higher draft pick investment I was referencing: Aaron Banks. Burford was a 4th round pick and Zakelj was a 6th. Those are low rounders.

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:


what's interesting about the Bengals, take a look at Jake Browning's numbers

Speaks more to the skill positions than it does to their bad OL.

Originally posted by NCommand:
Their "miss" was in what they prioritized at that time. Instead of BPA, they immediately tried to replace Buckner with a guy who doesn't know how to play football b/c DL > OL in their building strategy.

Agree, I think they misfired on that move. One reason I think they did, is because the NFL *kind of* caught up to defending Kyle's zone run. I've recently seen a proliferation of five man defensive lines - which I think can give the outsize zone run a schematic problem. With the additional DLineman, it's much harder to develop those RB cutback lanes which key to making the outside zone run a consistent ground gainer.

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:
Speaks more to the skill positions than it does to their bad OL.

Nope. Jake Browning is a star, lol.

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:


what's interesting about the Bengals, take a look at Jake Browning's numbers

Speaks more to the skill positions than it does to their bad OL.

You need both

Originally posted by SmokeyJoe:
You missed our higher draft pick investment I was referencing: Aaron Banks. Burford was a 4th round pick and Zakelj was a 6th. Those are low rounders.

Geeze Louise, here we go again. You didn't *mention* Aaron Banks in your post dude.

Originally posted by SmokeyJoe:
Our most recent higher draft pick investment suggests Kyle isn't stuck on drafting smaller athletic lineman ideally fit for the zone scheme.

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:
You need both

Need a healthy franchise QB.

Originally posted by SmokeyJoe:

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:
Speaks more to the skill positions than it does to their bad OL.

Nope. Jake Browning is a star, lol.

Point is he doesn't need to be, when you got matchups wins up and down the field, just be the point guard. Am I wrong?

Originally posted by SmokeyJoe:
Nope. Jake Browning is a star, lol.

Hope that wasn't his suggestion.

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:
Point is he doesn't need to be, when you got matchups wins up and down the field, just be the point guard. Am I wrong?

I'll take Magic Johnson at point guard thank you.

Originally posted by Giedi:
Geeze Louise, here we go again. You didn't *mention* Aaron Banks in your post dude.

I know I didn't say his name. I referenced him as our most recent higher draft pick. You responded by talking about two low round picks.

See NC's response to my post? He understood it was a reference to Banks just fine. Sorry it was too indirect for you.

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:
Point is he doesn't need to be, when you got matchups wins up and down the field, just be the point guard. Am I wrong?

They went from back to back AFC championship games to missing the playoffs. Biggest issue all season was the health of their franchise QB. Of course youre wrong, lol. Browning did a decent job as a scrub QB. Managed to only throw one game away, but was otherwise non impactful (which is a good thing for a backup level QB)

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by bassmanr:

Originally posted by random49er:

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:
Daft late round rookie QBs and spend big FA money on mediocre vet QBs who you limped into playoffs with.

Draft only OL

This is the way

Since no team ever does this... Nor ever will (because of the ignorant tunnel vision it would involve with millions of dollars at stake)... They rely on the fact that we cant instantly outline that these crazy ideas are blatantly false.

Imagine that?

Im all for everyone having their own opinion. Just dont completely take over thread topics and gatekeep it with nonsense.

With the exception of having Brady, the Patriots always spent heavy resources on their line. The skill players would come and go along with the defenders.

I would like to try the experiment though. I know it would never happen but would be Hella interesting.

Every smart HC knows, the second you get a tier 1 QB, especially if he's a classic drop back QB, you do everything in your power to get him a tier 1 OL.

How these guys ignore that, even recently, is beyond me.

Bingo. Unless you want to be the NYJ,

Yup. Would tier 2-3 QB's like Goff and Mayfield have won their divisions and made the playoffs if they didn't have tier 1, top 5 OL?

It works both ways. You need both. And yes, a top QB is still more important than a top OL. But they're both very important (esp. together) to a winning formula.

Agree that you need both. 49ers aren't that far off from a top OLine unit, just missing two players on the right side. The ones there are above average, (Feliciano and Mckivitz) but they can do a lot better next year with a decent draft.

Foerster is very good OLine coach, but he can only make lemonade with lemons. Give him some top of the line grapes from a gold medal Vinyard and we will have Vilmart & Cie.

Absolutely. We're not far off as long as TW stays with us and doesn't pull a Staley on us. I agree. Hone in on it in the off season. Add as much talent and competition as possible. Train up the other parts of PP as just as much of a focus as RB. Perfect your craft.

I wouldn't expect a rookie to come in like Wirfs. This is a tough, detailed system. Like Banks, a high end rookie might need a full red shirt year. I also can't picture them buying a FA either.

Quite honestly, I could see a resigning like Feliciano and the drafting of another higher pick G. The only way I see this regime taking a T with their first pick is if Trent retires. They really seem to like what's in house. Maybe even without adding more starting talent next year, with another off season together, they still could reach that next level. We'll see.

Great points! I agree.

The only difference I think, is that Brock's a legit franchise QB, and that could reprioritize that for Kyle, specially if Brock wins our #6 🏆

But yeah, I agree. If they *didn't* like the current OLine personnel, will they pick a TE in the third round and seventh round, if they thought they needed to upgrade their OLinemen? Ok, so they didn't like *any* offensive linemen in the 2023 draft. But why couldn't they spend a 7th rounder on a diamond in the rough OLinemen? They did spend a 7th on Brock even though they had Trey Lance. Instead they pick a TE in the seventh round. That tells me that - they do like what they have now and plan to develop them. As you said, they will pick a OLineman in the first if Trent retires, but if that doesn't happen, OLine upgrades will probably be relegated to probably day 2, and most likely day 3 in the draft.

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:


what's interesting about the Bengals, take a look at Jake Browning's numbers

Speaks more to the skill positions than it does to their bad OL.

You need both

Agree, to win a championship - you need *both* and preferably at the highest levels.