The 49ers didn’t finish 6-11 because they faced injuries. There were structural issues with the roster. Some were easily identifiable before the start of the season. Some became clear as players regressed.
This is the first in a series that will be going through the 49ers' roster, and how the organization should look at rebuilding its position groups. We're starting with the interior of the offensive line, which is probably the No. 2 priority behind defensive tackle.
It’s evident that the 49ers’ offensive line did not have the force to consistently displace players in the run game. If they were even an average pass blocking group, that might not have been damning. But in pass protection, they struggled to pick up assignments against overloaded, simulated pressures, and lost more often than they should have against four-down rushes.
Rookie Dominick Puni made a case for the best offensive lineman on the team after Trent Williams went out, but he had more rookie moments as the season went on. It’s clear he’s not the problem. Colton McKivitz, even if you refuse to believe it, was probably the team’s most consistent offensive lineman this season.
The options at left guard
The problem lies at left guard and center. There was some talk that Aaron Banks might price himself out of the 49ers’ range. He regressed monumentally this season. There were quad and ankle injuries, but Banks struggled last season, and the 49ers clearly need an upgrade there.
That answer might be in house, with a cheap deal for Ben Bartch. He was a revelation there in a brief game-and-a-half stint before a high ankle sprain, and there was an unstated recognition in house that he elevated them. A reasonable answer at left guard would be Bartch and a rookie, maybe a first-three-round pick who could start at guard with upside to play tackle.
Armand Membou, anyone? The Missouri product is an absolute force and should test incredible well at the combine. While he played tackle, he might project more as a guard in the immediate term.
The 49ers have historically not valued guards highly, and their only first-round tackle selection was Mike McGlinchey, but Membou is a rare case of a guy who could play guard immediately and move out to tackle whenever time is up for Trent Williams, or if McKivitz can't cut it.
If they want to go the free agency option, Will Fries from the Indianapolis Colts is a leading option. Trey Smith is perhaps the greatest guard in the game, but if the 49ers want to spend at one position, and it comes down to guard or center, you would expect they would look at center.
What to do at center
At center, Jake Brendel was not good enough. He struggled with knee issues, and at age 32, he just cannot anchor consistently, and he's not moving nearly as well in the run game. While he’s got two years left on his deal, the 49ers could post-June 1 cut or trade him (maybe someone has a center injury and will offer a late-round pick) and save $2.37 million this season and nearly $2 million next season.
But that’s a wait-and-see decision, unless the 49ers go after a premium center. Drew Dalman, the Stanford product whose dad, Chris, played center for the 49ers, has been a stud for the Atlanta Falcons and is the clear, if not only option there.
He is a premium athlete who does not turn 27 until October, and who is in the exact mold of what the 49ers look for in a center. San Francisco had interest in him in the 2021 NFL draft, when he went 112 overall to the Falcons.
Instead, they took Banks 48th… over Creed Humphrey, who went 15 picks later (yes, there was Alex Mack, and yes, Humphrey easily could have slotted in at left guard), and Ambry Thomas at 102. They drafted Jaylon Moore in round five.
Dalman won’t be cheap. It could be somewhere in the $12-15 million per year range. Humphrey makes $18 million per year, with a huge gap to Frank Ragnow, the second center on the list, at $13.5 million. If the 49ers get priced out, it happens.
But if they can get Dalman — and they can structure the deal to hit the cap lighter early, and space out the guarantees with void years down the line — it would immediately upgrade this offensive line with a cerebral, athletic center who can get out and attack the second level in the run game, and hold up in the pass game, especially against late blitzers and handling complicated assignments.
If the 49ers don’t want to go that route, or don’t view center as a spot worth spending on right now (they have spent in the past and been snakebitten with Weston Richburg’s injuries and Alex Mack’s retirement), they can draft a center and have a competition with Brendel, a rookie, Matt Hennessey (a late-season addition who lost the job to Dalman a few years ago) and Drake Nugent.
There are also some veteran college centers at major programs that could be mid-to-late-round options like Jake Majors (Texas) and Jake Slaughter (Florida).
What is evident is that the 49ers have to address the interior of their offensive line. They have to be additive, even if they keep some of the same pieces. They can't displace in the run game, and they're getting attacked in pass protection. Fixing that has to be a priority.