The 49ers didn’t take a single offensive tackle in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The San Francisco 49ers made eight selections in the 2024 NFL Draft, addressing a number of needs, both for the present and the future.
Among the group, the 49ers took two offensive linemen: Kansas’s Dominick Puni with the No. 86 pick in the third round and USC’s Jarrett Kingston with the No. 215 pick in the sixth round.
While San Francisco focused on addressing the interior, they did not take an offensive tackle, which had been a position the team evaluated hard heading into the draft.
The 49ers did have options in both the first and second round, but bypassed those choices, instead opting to address receiver and cornerback with their first two picks before trading up to select Puni in the third round.
Why did San Francisco not go for an offensive lineman and what does it mean for the team’s future at the position?
Staff’s thought process
Speaking with reporters after the draft was over, general manager John Lynch acknowledged the difficulties of falling in love with an offensive tackle when selecting at No. 31.
“We looked at numerous guys throughout the process. I think when you’re drafting 31st, it’s oftentimes hard to find a tackle that you really love,” Lynch shared on Saturday.
Additionally, the 49ers maintained their stance of being content with their current tackles Trent Williams, who still has three years left on his contract, and Colton McKivitz, who signed an extension this offseason.
“We like our tackles as they stand right now,” Lynch said. “We like our depth with Jaylon Moore being a really talented guy who can play the swing role. Drafted [USC OL Jarrett] Kingston, who has some flex at tackle.”
“We’ll continue to always try to improve ourself and improve the depth of our team. But we’re excited about our O-Line group. I know a lot of people talk about that, but we feel pretty good about our group.”
On Friday, the 49ers had an interesting situation in Round 2, as several tackles began to come off the board as their selection began to creep up.
The Miami Dolphins began the run, taking Houston’s Patrick Paul at No. 55. Then, the Houston Texans followed suit, taking Notre Dame’s Blake Fisher at No. 59. Finally, one pick before the 49ers selected, the Baltimore Ravens took Washington’s Roger Rosengarten at No. 62.
However, that left BYU’s Kingsley Suamataia still on the board at No. 63, but the 49ers clearly weren’t as high on the 6’5, 320-pounder, as they traded down one spot with the Kansas City Chiefs, who took the tackle at No. 63.
Did the 49ers have one of their targets come off the board before their spot?
“We had a group of players we liked, [Washington OL] Roger [Rosengarten] was one of them,” Lynch revealed after Day 2 of the draft on Friday. “But we knew we were very comfortable with Renardo as well. We had a couple more players, thought going back one, we had the freedom to do that and still end up with the guy we liked, and we were able to get the guy we really liked. And so that was cool for us.”
While Lynch shared that San Francisco did not know who the Kansas City Chiefs were selecting, reports surfaced about the latter looking to move up in the second round for an offensive tackle after taking Texas wideout Xavier Worthy in the first round, making it likely that Suamataia or another player at the position would be the pick.
Green was a good selection for San Francisco, who seemed to go more best-player-available rather than honing in on a certain position. But, taking him at No. 64 meant that the 49ers did not address tackle in a draft that was extremely top-heavy at the position and significantly fell off after the first few rounds.
The 49ers acknowledged that Roger Rosengarten was one of the players they liked on their board, but they did not look to facilitate a trade-up to get the player, which ultimately allowed the Baltimore Ravens to take him one spot ahead of San Francisco.
The way that San Francisco approached the draft tells us two things about how they view their offensive line: 1) They see their front five in higher regard than most and 2) they did not view Kingsley Suamataia that high, despite their pre-draft interest, allowing the Chiefs to take him with a trade down rather than selecting him at No. 63.
Future OL outlook
With Dominick Puni and Jarrett Kingston in the fold, but no offensive tackle from the 2024 NFL Draft, the 49ers have an intriguing look for the future along the offensive line.
Puni, taken at No. 86 after a trade-up with the Philadelphia Eagles, should immediately compete at guard with Jon Feliciano and Spencer Burford and could be the future answer at either guard spot, depending on what San Francisco does with Aaron Banks, who is a free agent after the season.
Kingston is also seen as more of an interior guy, with his athleticism standing out, and he could be in line to compete more in 2025.
But, with no tackle in the fold, the 49ers are in a tight situation at offensive tackle, as Trent Williams is entering his age-36 season and could very well retire at the end of the year. Meanwhile, Colton McKivitz is under contract for two more years, but San Francisco could look to upgrade the position at some point.
If San Francisco had taken a tackle this draft, it would’ve allowed them to find competition for McKivitz this season, while potentially being the tackle of the future after Williams’s retirement.
However, they did prepare for the possibility of not taking a tackle with the extension of Colton McKivitz, providing them with a starter they feel comfortable with over the next two years. Now, the focus turns to next offseason for the tackle position, where San Francisco may have to deal with a tough situation, as they’ll likely be drafting in a similar spot once again.
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