When it comes to the San Francisco 49ers, the offensive line has long been a topic of conversation, with many being unhappy with the investment at the position in the draft.
Still, the position group has done well and posted a quality season in 2025, with several starters performing at or above their contracts. Trent Williams turned in another good year in his age-37 season, while Colton McKivitz and Jake Brendel were both quality starters for the 49ers. Dominick Puni was good as well, but saw his ups and downs battling injuries.
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The one position that was a key issue was left guard. The 49ers went into the season with Ben Bartch as their projected starter, despite him only playing eight games in the previous two years. Unfortunately, Bartch got hurt in Week 2, forcing a change there. Rookie Connor Colby took over but was pulled in favor of Spencer Burford after some early struggles. Burford ended up making nine starts at the position and playing 11 games, but he was also very inconsistent.
In fact, according to analyst Daniel Rotman, Burford had the worst pressure rate among all 32 starters at left guard this season at 7.89 percent.
While the 49ers likely won’t make many changes to their offensive line with the four other starters projected to return, upgrading at left guard should be a priority this offseason.
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San Francisco may need more depth across the board as Trent Williams will be 38, while Jake Brendel will be 34, but the most pressing need is at left guard. The 49ers haven’t looked to spend much on a free agent recently, instead looking more at in-house candidates or the draft to fill spots along the offensive line.
Dominick Puni was a third-round pick, but Brendel and Colton McKivitz were both players who were initially backups with the 49ers before transitioning into a starting role. Of course, Trent Williams was the big swing the team made via trade, but even that didn’t come at nearly the cost you’d expect for a player of his caliber.
The 49ers have seven projected picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, so that could be an avenue for improvement, but there will also be some options in free agency, such as David Edwards, Connor McGovern, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Wyatt Teller, Teven Jenkins, and others.
But it makes sense to make a change after the inconsistencies we saw at left guard in 2026.
