Both the Chiefs and Eagles have invested heavily into the defensive line, and they’ve reaped the rewards.
Are we sure that drafting an offensive lineman in the first round is the best way for the San Francisco 49ers to return to the playoffs, make a run at the NFC Championship, and win the Super Bowl?
There are multiple ways to skin a cat. Let’s look at the Philadelphia Eagles, for example. Their first-team All-Pro left tackle was a seventh-round draft pick. The Kansas City Chiefs are looking to 3-peat as champions, and they don’t have an offensive lineman starting that was drafted on Day 1.
Now, let’s flip sides and go to the defensive line.
The Chiefs drafted George Karlaftis in the first round and used another first-round pick on an edge rusher in 2023. In 2016, they drafted this defensive tackle out of Mississippi State in the second round. Jones fell to Day 2 after there were questions about his effort. Talent-wise, Jones was a top-10 player then, and it’s even more ridiculous that he dropped out of the first round.
The Eagles watched Jalen Carter fall into their laps in 2023. He was arguably the best player in that draft but fell for what we’ll call off-the-field issues. The Eagles doubled down later in the first round at edge rusher by taking Carter’s teammate Nolan Smith. The season prior, Philly drafted Jordan Davis, another defensive tackle and former Georgia Bulldog.
The Los Angeles Rams lost a Hall of Famer and somehow didn’t lose a step. Sean McVay used his first two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft on two Florida State defensive linemen. Do you see where we’re going with this?
Kyle Shanahan’s scheme helps “hide” some individual deficiencies on the defensive line. Despite all the moving parts on the offensive line, the 49ers finished 10th in yards before contact last season.
Of course, the pushback to that would be the Niners finishing 10th in pressure rate, but pass protection is where the lack of cohesion and continuity rears its ugly head.
What the 49ers can’t afford to do moving forward under Robert Saleh is finish 19th in pressure rate defensively. Not only were they failing to generate a pass rush in 2024, San Francisco had the fifth-worst EPA per rush. There’s no version of this team under Kyle Shanahan where they made the playoffs with a subpar defensive line.
Tim Kawakami, now of the San Francisco Standard, believes the 49ers will stick to their roots and “Take somebody who can rush the passer or score touchdowns. And the likeliest position for No. 11 in this draft seems like it’ll be defensive tackle.”
It’s easy to remember the one play in which an offensive lineman missed a block. That clouds our memory and will make us forget about the 10-play drive the defensive allowed because they couldn’t get a push up the middle or defeat a block against the run.
Watching Jones and Carter dominate this past season should make the 49ers brass want to find the next star defensive tackle in the draft. Luckily for them, it’s arguably the strongest position in this upcoming class.
Here’s more from Kawakami:
“49ers’ leaders believe that it usually costs too much to upgrade at offensive line for potentially marginal gains when larger investments in the defensive line and receiver positions more often lead to giant results. So the 49ers almost always put their chips into positions other than OL and believe they can turn lower-reviewed linemen into inexpensive but serviceable starters.”
How the 49ers spend in free agency will be telling. It would make sense to find established starters that fit the scheme and lean on the talent in the NFL Draft at defensive tackle.
Are you in the camp that the 49ers should use their early resources in the NFL Draft on the defensive line or look to upgrade the trenches on offense?