49ers Offensive Line

Originally posted by Brucey72:
Gotta sign a swing tackle, there are still some veterans out there

Pleasants will be the swing tackle

Originally posted by Scoots:
Kolton Miller is an FA next year ... could be the next LT if Trent retires.

Team is betting heavy on coaching to polish the cheap OL players on the roster. Reminds me of the Bobb McKittrick days.

Minus the Bobb McKittrick. In all honesty who has this Oline Coaching staff developed in their time here? Puni is still too early to tell and was a rookie but outside of 1st rounder McGlinchy who was a 1st rounder this staff has overly relied on Trent to take care of the QB while we've seen all of our starting QB's during Kyle's term suffer major injuries.

Originally posted by WildBill:
The niners might still sign an FA OL for this year.

I am hearing that next years OL class is supposed to be deep like the DL class was this year.

But picking 32nd the 49ers are not likely to get one of the studs :)

Originally posted by jcs:
Minus the Bobb McKittrick. In all honesty who has this Oline Coaching staff developed in their time here? Puni is still too early to tell and was a rookie but outside of 1st rounder McGlinchy who was a 1st rounder this staff has overly relied on Trent to take care of the QB while we've seen all of our starting QB's during Kyle's term suffer major injuries.

I meant more that the team wasn't spending draft capital on the OL very much and just relying on the coaches to coach them up.

I don't know why they didn't jump on Williams in the 5th.

Originally posted by WildBill:
The niners might still sign an FA OL for this year.

I am hearing that next years OL class is supposed to be deep like the DL class was this year.

Yes but the 24 class was also deep, especially at center and they ignored it. Although they certainly hit on Puni thank god.

Very good take by Miacco [sp]



Thoughts?

crystal ball time. Here is our 2026 starting offensive line:

LT - Dominic Puni
LG - Ben Bartch
C - Drake Nugent
RG - Connor Colby
RT - Austen Pleasants

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Very good take by Miacco [sp]



Thoughts?

Good analysis. He lays out the needs and why they were met in each round.

My summary:

We went into the draft with an OL that took us to the SB in 2023 and did OK in 2024. Needs to get better at Center and replace Banks, who was average at best. We have Bartch who should be the equal of Banks. Brendel improved from 2023 to 2024 - he is putting in the work to do that. We shall see how that turns out. In short, the OL is not nearly as bad as some make it out to be.

The big need, as we all know, was to stop the run. We lost Floyd, Collins, Hargrove, and Greenlaw - major losses to a unit that was already weak, both against the run, and pressuring the QB. Though we didn't know it at the time of the draft, we also need another safety to fill until MM returns (week 8?) from ACL injury. (I understand why that was not released to the media. It would have tipped our hand in the draft.)

So the first four picks were "must have" to replace the four I mentioned above. Mykel Williams, Andrew Collins, and CJ West will see major minutes and be improvements over the guys they replace. Martin has the physical tools to replace Greenlaw though no one can replace his fire, although that fire was often out of control and cost dearly in penalties. On balance, those four picks will be a big step up from where we were.

Stout reminds me of K'Waun Williams (same size) who did a great job for us at the slot corner. We needed depth at CB, a number of mocks had us taking a CB in the first or second round. If Stout can play like Williams we have added another piece to a defense that will change the game.

Let me add in here that the offense will look a lot better if the defense is doing its job in getting the ball back to the offense. They didn't do that last season and it put a lot of pressure on the offense that was already lacking key elements. If Purdy gets an extra possession each game, it will equal wins.

Back to the draft; Watkins is a nice piece to add to an otherwise thin WR room with Aiyuk's return date uncertain. It is hard to fault the decision not to go OL here.

The comparison of James to Frank Gore is interesting. (It may have been Gore along the staff agreement that triggered this pick.) Losing Jordan Mason, along with CMC's injury history, and the history of injuries to running backs makes the James pick compelling.

At this point, we got the surprise Safety pick that was mandated by the Mustapha injury. At the least, Sigle will be a good add to STs, if not see significant time in the secondary.

It has been said teams should always pick a QB and RB in each draft. We already had the RB and Rourke may turn out to be a top-tier backup, and perhaps trade bait. I have read some suggest he would have been a second day pick if not for the injury.

MM's summation, which I agree with, the FO concluded that given the OL we already had on the roster, and the lack of quality OL available at any of these spots, they made the right choice.

If the defense does its job, though we may pick late in the first round in 2026, we will fill the OL then.

My .02 worth...

Originally posted by gored49:
crystal ball time. Here is our 2026 starting offensive line:

LT - Dominic Puni
LG - Ben Bartch
C - Drake Nugent
RG - Connor Colby
RT - Austen Pleasants

Unless McKivitz gets priced out of the market as did Banks, I don't see Pleasants beating out McKivitz. Mc is very much underrated in NT.

OL is the toughest to build. It takes more time, particularly in Kyle's system, to learn both the plays and the technique, in order to start. Hence, I would not be surprised to see someone like Nugent or Zakelj get a full-time job next year.

Originally posted by Cisco0623:

Originally posted by WildBill:
The niners might still sign an FA OL for this year.

I am hearing that next years OL class is supposed to be deep like the DL class was this year.

Yes but the 24 class was also deep, especially at center and they ignored it. Although they certainly hit on Puni thank god.

It's getting harder to predict how good a draft class is going to be with NIL and college portal transfers. Players that would be draft eligible can now elect to stay in college for another year while earning as much or more than they would in the NFL. Lot's of players have better JR years than they do SR years.

Even if the 2026 draft has better O line talent the Niners probably won't be in a good position to get a top tackle. Those guys go in the top 10. Centers and guards may be available and a lower rated tackle surely could be there. I expect the Niners to win more games next year due to a weak schedule and getting some injured players back. Also an improved defense with the new players and Saleh coming back. They may end up picking somewhere in the 20s.

Originally posted by CatchMaster80:

Originally posted by Cisco0623:

Originally posted by WildBill:
The niners might still sign an FA OL for this year.

I am hearing that next years OL class is supposed to be deep like the DL class was this year.

Yes but the 24 class was also deep, especially at center and they ignored it. Although they certainly hit on Puni thank god.

It's getting harder to predict how good a draft class is going to be with NIL and college portal transfers. Players that would be draft eligible can now elect to stay in college for another year while earning as much or more than they would in the NFL. Lot's of players have better JR years than they do SR years.

A lot of otherwise mid-round picks stayed in college this year to collect their NIL rather play for peanuts in the NFL. In the end, it will make them better first-year pros than had they come out earlier.

Originally posted by gored49:
crystal ball time. Here is our 2026 starting offensive line:

LT - Dominic Puni
LG - Ben Bartch
C - Drake Nugent
RG - Connor Colby
RT - Austen Pleasants

So draft didn't happen in 2026?

Originally posted by dj43:
Unless McKivitz gets priced out of the market as did Banks, I don't see Pleasants beating out McKivitz. Mc is very much underrated in NT.

OL is the toughest to build. It takes more time, particularly in Kyle's system, to learn both the plays and the technique, in order to start. Hence, I would not be surprised to see someone like Nugent or Zakelj get a full-time job next year.

Hmm I think we will get priced out of Mckivitz, free agency o line #s are always crazy and I doubt we will want to pay $18-20M for him (my guess of what he can get). So unless he takes a haircut - we most likely can't retain him.

Originally posted by CatchMaster80:
It's getting harder to predict how good a draft class is going to be with NIL and college portal transfers. Players that would be draft eligible can now elect to stay in college for another year while earning as much or more than they would in the NFL. Lot's of players have better JR years than they do SR years.

Even if the 2026 draft has better O line talent the Niners probably won't be in a good position to get a top tackle. Those guys go in the top 10. Centers and guards may be available and a lower rated tackle surely could be there. I expect the Niners to win more games next year due to a weak schedule and getting some injured players back. Also an improved defense with the new players and Saleh coming back. They may end up picking somewhere in the 20s.

If Will Campbell came out in 2026, hed be the 5th best tackle. This class was weak and overdrafted because of 0 depth. Get a strong and deep class and a good tackle is possible in the 20s. The last few years have been 50/50 on guys in the 20s with hits on guys like Darrisaw and Tyler Smith. We'll have 11 picks at our disposal to move up into the teens as well. Assuming we are not there already.

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by gored49:
crystal ball time. Here is our 2026 starting offensive line:

LT - Dominic Puni
LG - Ben Bartch
C - Drake Nugent
RG - Connor Colby
RT - Austen Pleasants

Unless McKivitz gets priced out of the market as did Banks, I don't see Pleasants beating out McKivitz. Mc is very much underrated in NT.

OL is the toughest to build. It takes more time, particularly in Kyle's system, to learn both the plays and the technique, in order to start. Hence, I would not be surprised to see someone like Nugent or Zakelj get a full-time job next year.

I am very much assuming we don't sign mccivitz. How much is he gonna want after seeing what Jaylon Moore got. I would've definitely put him there if we could get him back but don't see it.