The 49ers are at a crucial point in their roster construction. They’re wedged between rebuilding and contending, trying to balance competing now and adding to the foundation to remain in the hunt year after year. Having Jimmy Garoppolo locked into a five-year contract elevates them from construction mode to thinking about ways to make the playoffs as soon as next winter.

Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch’s club has nine picks in the upcoming NFL draft later this month, including the No. 9 pick overall after becoming the first team in league history to win six games after starting 0-9.

Here, we’ll dive into the five things to know about San Francisco’s approach heading into the most important part of the offseason (all will be expounded upon on Niners Wire in various ways leading up to the draft).

Areas of the game that need improvement

We looked over the weekend at nine ways San Francisco could use their nine picks. Without rehashing the details of each position too much, we’ll point out the team’s positional needs (in no particular order) include edge pass rusher, cornerback, linebacker, running back, receiver, guard and tackle, among others.

But what about areas of improvement between the lines on Sundays? Let’s take a quick look at where the 49ers need to get better next fall.

Sacking the quarterback

The 49ers’ defense had 30 sacks total, the fifth-fewest in the NFL, despite pressuring quarterbacks at roughly the league average rate. Pro Football Focus says San Francisco pressured opposing QBs on 34.8 percent of drop backs. The league average: 34.6. But the inability to take down the quarterback consistently enough led to being bad on third down (ranking 27th in the NFL) while finishing with the 22nd-ranked pass defense overall. Defending the pass is the clear Achilles heal – and an incredibly important one at that. Improving should start with the pass rush, particularly off the edge.

Running the ball

San Francisco had the league’s 20th-ranked rushing offense in 2017. It averaged 4.1 yards per carry to rank 17th in the league, which is a pretty underwhelming number. Shanahan’s Falcons averaged 4.5 yards per attempt in 2016, ranking seventh. The addition of Jerick McKinnon, a running back hand-picked by Shanahan, should prove to be an improvement over Carlos Hyde, who wasn’t a perfect fit for the outside zone scheme. Running the ball more effectively to balance out the offense should create more opportunities to push the ball downfield for Garoppolo, particularly with play action. The draft is replete with options at running back to add depth and physicality to McKinnon and Matt Breida. Joe Williams, last year’s fourth-round pick, is a wild card.

Red zone offense

The red zone was the only notable area San Francisco didn’t improve in Garoppolo’s five starts. The offense converted 11 of 24 trips into touchdowns (45.8 percent) with Garoppolo, down slightly from the 48-percent clip with C.J. Beathard and Brian Hoyer at the helm. Garoppolo’s first start in Chicago included going 0-for-5 in the red area. Often the differentiator when the field condenses is pure talent. The 49ers relied heavily on rookies on offense. But they could use another big-bodied red zone target or two, which could come in the draft.