When it comes to the NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers are often a team in many conversations during the offseason, with this year being no different after they took wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling at No. 33 and running back Kaelon Black at No. 90 overall.
San Francisco has seen its wide range of successes and misses in the draft under head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, finding hits with some of their mid-round and late-round targets, while sometimes struggling with their early-round
picks.
The 49ers have been scrutinized in the draft ever since they took quarterback Trey Lance with the No. 3 overall pick in 2021. Their draft classes in 2022 and 2023 were quite poor, set aside the massive hit of Brock Purdy, while their 2024 and 2025 classes are yet to be determined.
One position the 49ers haven’t prioritized as much in the early rounds of the draft is the offensive line. The 49ers have taken an offensive lineman just once in the first round under Shanahan: Mike McGlinchey back in 2018. Other than that, they’ve rarely spent a first or second-round pick on an offensive lineman, with Aaron Banks being the only other guy.
Instead, they’ve acquired or developed their linemen in a different way. Just look at their current starters. Trent Williams was acquired via trade. Connor Colby was a seventh-round pick in 2025. Jake Brendel signed a reserve/future contract with San Francisco back in 2020 after being cut and developed into the starting center. Dominick Puni was a third-round pick. And Colton McKivitz was a fifth-round pick who got cut after his rookie year.
However, the 49ers are currently seeing some of the best offensive line play in the NFL this year after sporting a top-10 unit in 2025.
Why have they embarked on this path with their offensive line selection in the draft, and why has it worked? Head coach Kyle Shanahan shared some perspective with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco last week, and it starts with offensive line coach Chris Foerster.
“I definitely do [have a lot of confidence in Chris Foerster developing players for our scheme], ” Shanahan said. “Chris is as good a coach as there is, as good a coach as I’ve been around. He was one of the most important guys even when I came here. I tried to get him right away and couldn’t. But Chris, he’s a stud, and I trust him with so many people.
However, the biggest part of the puzzle is actually finding scheme fits for the 49ers offense, which is where a lot of the team’s draft strategy for offensive linemen come into play.
“But it doesn’t just mean that, hey, give him whatever and he’s going to turn them into stuff. You got to get the right guys. He’s really good at helping us find those right guys. Our personnel department is really good at helping us find those right guys. You don’t just say, ‘hey, we like the later-round guys.’ There’s got to be a certain type of guy that you believe in who can do it. But also, I want to say we have a philosophy that, hey, we’re not going to draft guys early. We just try to take who we think the best player is for our team.
“And I think it’s really hard with O-linemen because last year there was an O-lineman I loved [in the 2026 NFL Draft]. He wasn’t there at 27. And a lot of guys you love at O-Line rarely get past 15 if they’re really legit, that guy. And then when you get to a certain draft pick, yeah, this might be the best guy available at 27, but how different is he than the guy that you know will be available in the third round? And yeah, if we had to pick now, we’ll take that take that guy at 27. But man, Chris, myself, some personnel guys, we think that guy in the third round might be this close to being as good as them. So why would we do that when we can go get a guy who can rush the quarterback, a guy who can touch the football? But if you can find that guy in the third round, then that guy might be the best pick then.”
Interestingly, Shanahan believes that’s where a lot of the NFL can fail, as they choose to go the safer route in the draft and draft offensive linemen unnecessarily.
“So by no means do we go into it and say, hey, it’s just our philosophy not to take those guys. But we don’t just take them to take them. And I do think one thing I’ve noticed a lot in this league: I think a lot of people just take O-linemen to take them. It’s one of the safest things to do. You take an O-lineman, and very rarely are you going to get questioned. Very rarely do they turn and bust, even if they’re just an average guy. A guy who’s in the first round who plays like a 4th-round guy but still plays like a starter, there’s not that much difference.
“Now, it’s hard to find a starter, 1st-round, 4th-round, whatever, but there’s not that big of a difference level until you find like a Pro Bowl type dude. And if it’s a Pro Bowl type dude, hell yeah, that guy’s so worth it. That guy’s going to be so much different than a guy later, but that’s not always the case. And so you don’t want to just stockpile these O-linemen when you feel like you can find people later. I also think that’s why we’ve gotten a lot of players and not always just in the first round or anything like that, but that’s what allows you to add pass rushers. That’s what allows you to get some guys that I think can touch the ball and score touchdowns.”
After years of scrutiny and warranted criticism for their strategy, San Francisco’s offensive line is currently playing at a very high level, as they’ve had continuity everywhere but at left guard from 2025. But it’s interesting to see Shanahan’s perspective on offensive linemen and why the 49ers differ from a lot of other teams on strategy.
