The 49ers will have an opportunity to select an offensive lineman in the early rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft with picks No. 11 and No. 43, but hints from John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have made it appear unlikely.
The team lost two starting linemen during free agency, with Aaron Banks signing a four-year contract with the Green Bay Packers worth $77 million and Jaylon Moore, who now is a member of the Kansas City Chiefs after signing a two-year, $30 million contract.
The returning starters include Trent Williams at left tackle, Jake Brendel at center, Dominick Puni at right guard and Colton McKivitz at right tackle.
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SIGN UP HERE “It’s really hard losing Banks,” Shanahan said. “And it’s really hard losing Jaylon Moore, who has been a great swing tackle who got to play a lot with Trent being down half of last year. So those are the things that we really need to look to replace.”
Opinions of the offensive line’s performance from those outside of team headquarters is markedly more critical than both Shanahan and Lynch, who recently spoke positively about the group at the NFL Annual League Meeting.
“I think on the lines in particular you are always looking to add, and to improve,” Lynch said. “I would tell you we like our right tackle, we like our center. Left guard we’ve got some candidates, in house right now, but will we look at that in the draft, certainly.
“I think that’s something where I don’t follow the [X/Twitter] narrative on how our guys are. We evaluate our players and we think we have a pretty stead group. Now, when Trent Williams is down, you’re not going to be quite as good.”
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Shanahan was equally as positive about his offensive line, specifically regarding Brendel, whose Pro Football Focus grades for the 2024 NFL season support the head coach’s claim that the 32-year-old is one of the league's better interior blockers. Among centers who played at least 800 snaps, Brendel ranked 12th in the NFL with a 65.0 grade for his overall blocking.
Candidates currently on the roster who will compete for the open left guard position include Nick Zakelj, Ben Bartch and Matt Hennessy, along with Spencer Burford, who has spent time predominantly on the right side of the line.
“He’s capable of playing all the positions, so it’s really where he can help us the most, where he can get the most comfortable,” Shanahan said of Burford. “I think as he showed us his rookie year, he has starting ability at guard and we believe he has that at tackle too.
“It’s really where he is going to balance out the most and where he can come in and compete and give himself a chance to possibly earn a starting spot and possibility to be a swing tackle because he has that type of ability.”
Even with the loss of the two starters, the 49ers appear confident that they will improve in the coming season by adding through the draft, albeit likely in later rounds.
“It’s really hard losing Banks and it’s really hard losing Jaylon Moore, who has been a great swing tackle who got to play a lot with Trent being down half of last year,” Lynch said. “So those are the things that we really need to look to replace.”
The 49ers currently have 11 total picks in the draft, eight of which are in the top 160, which could help them replenish the offensive line as well as at other positions across the roster.