Former NFL Offensive Coordinator Assesses the 49ers Offensive Line

The 49ers don’t invest heavily in the offensive line.

They want to invent in offensive players who score touchdowns. So they look at their offensive line as a position group that must be just good enough simply to not wreck the game. And most of the time, the 49ers overcome their subpar offensive line, Super Bowls notwithstanding.

Here’s what two-time Super-Bowl-winning former Raiders offensive coordinator Tom Walsh had to say about the 49ers’ philosophy about their offensive line.

WALSH: “You look at the left tackle, Trent Williams, he’s about at the end of his career. How many more years does he want to play? Can he play? How many games does he miss a year to begin with? And what success do the 49ers have when he’s not playing?”

ME: They’re 3-6 without Trent Williams since 2020.

WALSH: “So when he’s not healthy, who will the 49ers put at left tackle, and how will that impact their offense and their protection? What runs can they execute? In their offense, they have a certain run philosophy to the left and a certain run philosophy to the right. When they’re running to the left, they’re running more physical style of runs. On the other side, they’re using more footspeed and stretch concepts because they don’t have the power to knock you off the ball which the left side of the line has.”

ME: The salary cap prevents teams from loading up at every position the way dynasties could in the 1980s. So teams have to save money somewhere, and the 49ers choose to save money on their offensive line. Is this wise?

WALSH: “You could have all these great weapons on the outside — Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, etc. But if you can’t protect and afford the quarterback enough time to get the ball to those guys, what’s the point of having all that talent on the outside and you can’t get the ball to them because the quarterback’s tits are to the sky and he’s flat on his back?”