Since Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch assumed their roles as head coach and general manager of the 49ers, two positions have dominated their thoughts when it comes to the draft, defensive line and wide receiver.
A look at the 49ers’ draft history since 2017 is telling. The 49ers have only twice used a first-round pick on a position other than defensive line or wideout. The ninth overall pick was spent on right tackle Mike McGlinchey in 2018, and the third overall selection into which the 49ers traded up was infamously used on quarterback Trey Lance in 2021.
And it once again appears that one of those two areas will be the focus if the 49ers eschew the opportunity to trade down and stay at pick 27 in the first round.
With the 49ers coming to an agreement with Trent Williams that ensures he will be with the team for the next two seasons, San Francisco is less likely to be inclined to select an offensive lineman in the first round, despite the obvious need for the Niners to eventually find an heir apparent for the 37-year-old.
Asked about a replacement plan for Williams in his pre-draft press conference, Lynch provided an answer that indicated San Francisco will likely not pick his successor in this year’s draft.
“We did a two-year deal with Trent with great confidence that Trent’s going to be here for a couple years. The way he takes care of himself, where his heart’s at. In the inception of this offseason, I sat down with Trent, ‘where you at, man, what’s on your mind, what’s on your heart?’ and that gave us a great feel. I think there’s going to be more and more cases of guys playing to this level with just the way they are taking care of themselves. I have a high degree of confidence that Trent can and will do that for us. But absolutely, you have to be looking for whoever. That’s a premium position as it is. I can tell you we’re really excited about [OL] Vederian Lowe. He’s a guy who’s started a lot of games in this League and we felt like we needed to improve as a swing tackle. We also felt like before we had Trent done, we need to have somebody who can start some games if we run into some hiccups there. I think we have really good depth at tackle. But yeah, absolutely. That is a premium position, and we understand the end is closer than it has been, but we’re excited moving forward with Trent.”
The 49ers’ apparent comfort level with their tackle depth suggests the position will not be a priority in the draft despite San Francisco doing its homework on the likes of Caleb Lomu, Max Iheanachor and Kadyn Proctor, all of whom were top-30 visits for the Niners.
San Francisco could use a long-term solution at left guard, but the idea of them using a premium pick to find one seems fanciful. Indeed, the 49ers’ own offensive line coach Chris Foerster articulated the team’s apparent philosophy when it comes to O-Line being lower down in San Francisco’s thinking back in 2024.
“This is my personal opinion, if they ask me, invest in guys that touch the ball, guys that can touch the ball and score touchdowns,” Foerster said after the 2024 draft. “And then there’s a range of guys, second, third, fourth round, fifth round even, that we will find starting offensive linemen in.”
While that was Foerster stating his personal view, it appears be the prevailing opinion in an organization that has also long since made no secrets about its views on building the defensive side of the trenches.
In stark contrast to how they have approached the offensive line, the 49ers have continually plunged premium resources into the defensive line and, with last year’s first-round pick Mykel Williams recovering from an ACL injury and Bryce Huff having retired from the sport, Lynch was asked about the chances of the 49ers bolstering their options on the D-Line with another top selection.
He replied:
“First of all, when we got together here 10 years ago, that was always going to be at the forefront. The more good players you can add up front. We’ve always talked about, making life on opposing offenses, on opposing quarterbacks, you want them to have to perform under duress. It’s the great equalizer in today’s football. So much set up for the offense to have success. Can you put that quarterback under duress? Can you hit that quarterback? Can you pressure that quarterback? We fell short of that last year. Are there some reasons? Absolutely. [DL] Nick Bosa was hurt, Mykel got hurt halfway through. But, I think we need to get better in that spot. We need to get these guys back healthy and then we need to improve there. Really excited about free agency. Adding [DL] Osa [Odighizuwa], I think he can really be an impact player. We really believe that he’s going to impact who we are in all facets of the game. Having [DL] Keion [White] now another year with some more experience with who we are, but absolutely you’re always trying to add there, and we’ll be open to that.”
The 49ers will never shut the door on adding at any spot but, with Lynch’s assertion about their offensive line depth, San Francisco’s choice in the draft looks set to be a familiar one.
It would greatly behove the 49ers to set themselves up for the future at wide receiver — with Mike Evans and Christian Kirk very much short-term additions — especially given Ricky Pearsall’s injury struggles. There is enough talent in this class to allow them to do that.
At the same time, the Niners’ defensive end rotation could definitely use a boost in the wake of Huff’s retirement, and the fact Mykel Williams and Nick Bosa are both coming off ACL tears increases the need for contributors at that spot.
Finding a Trent Williams successor or bolstering the interior of the offensive line would make a tremendous amount of sense but, a couple of days out from the draft, the smart money is on the 49ers continuing to live by one of the two draft philosophies that have underpinned their approach under Shanahan and Lynch.
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