Tag: Chris Foerster

Are 49ers preparing for change to starting offensive line?

The 49ers may have change coming on their OL with one player changing positions.

The San Francisco 49ers may be gearing up to try something a little different along their offensive line.

Going into the offseason it was clear the 49ers needed to at bare minimum add competition for the right side of the offensive front. Right guard was a rotating cast of players last season, while right tackle was a clear weak spot.

They added right guard help in the third round of this year’s draft when they selected Kansas offensive lineman Dominick Puni. He won the starting right guard spot out of camp and has acquitted himself well through three games.

At right tackle they brought in some veterans like Chris Hubbard and Brandon Parker, but neither really pushed incumbent right tackle Colton McKivitz for a starting job. It appears that competition may now be coming for the bookend opposite Trent Williams.

Offensive line coach Chris Foerster was asked in his Thursday press conference whether swing tackle Jaylon Moore played on the right side at all. He indicated that Moore does work on that side, but then he indicated another interior offensive lineman is moving to tackle.

“He gets a little work the right side,” Foerster said of Moore. “He’s been getting work since the start of the season. Wednesdays, Trent is usually off, and then Thursdays he’s back at practice, so he’s able to get a little bit more work at both tackles. As is, we’re working Spencer Burford to tackle as well.”

This is an intriguing development since Burford exclusively played guard for the 49ers since they selected him in the fourth round of the 2022 draft. However, he played all over the offensive line in college and logged more than 20 starts at either right or left tackle.

It’s not out of the question that San Francisco would make a mid-season change on the OL. They’ve done it at right guard in each of the last two years by rotating players in with Burford who started at that spot his first two seasons.

McKivitz would be the logical choice to replace. He’s allowed a team-worst 13 pressures, one sack, and half of the six quarterback hits the offensive line has allowed through three games per Pro Football Focus.

Keeping quarterback Brock Purdy upright and healthy is going to be vital to the 49ers overcoming the bombardment of injuries that’ve hit them this season, and making a change on the offensive line may be necessary to ensure that happens.

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49er signed veteran OL because a former 49ers OL told them to

How Daniel Brunskill played a key role in the 49ers signing Chris Hubbard.

Here’s a wild thing from 49ers offensive line coach/run game coordinator Chris Foerster’s press conference Friday.

San Francisco added veteran offensive tackle Chris Hubbard over the offseason, presumably to add depth they lacked at a key position, but perhaps to also push Colton McKivitz for the starting right tackle job. Hubbard, a 10-year NFL veteran, has 58 starts across 94 games. Last season he started at right tackle all nine games he played for the Titans.

Hubbard during his time in Tennessee played alongside former 49ers offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill. That’s significant because San Francisco, according to Foerster, actually vetted Hubbard’s fit in their offense with Brunskill.

“Hubbard, you see it too because Tennessee did have some similarities,” Foerster said. “There were some similarities. You could see more of what we do in Hubbard. And then here’s the catchall, [Tennessee Titans OL Dan] Brunskill was there and Dan Brunskill is a [head coach] Kyle Shanahan favorite. And so, if Brunskill gave him the check and said, ‘This guy can do it for you guys.’ Kyle was like, ‘Yeah, well Brunskill says we can do it. I don’t care what you say, this guy’s playing for us.’ So Danny said the guy was actually really good at it. And he felt was a good transition. Even though he didn’t exactly coach him in Tennessee, like we coach him. Dan felt like the guy could make the transition. And so whatever I thought, went backseat to Brunskill, but we think the guy can do it.”

Foerster is likely having some fun here and making it seem like his input didn’t count. It’s hard to imagine the 49ers would’ve chosen the assessment of a former player over that of their coach if Foerster had staunch anti-Hubbard opinions.

If Brunskill is right and Hubbard thrives with the 49ers they might have to consider a job for him in their front office someday.

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49ers OL coach would rather draft skill position players than O-linemen

Should the 49ers use early draft picks on OL? Even their OL coach says no.

The 49ers haven’t done much to prioritize the offensive line in the draft since head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch arrived in 2017.

They added right tackle Mike McGlinchey in the first round of the 2018 draft, and in 2021 they used a second-round pick on left guard Aaron Banks. Those are the only two picks in the first two rounds they’ve used on offensive linemen, and offensive line coach Chris Foerster shed some light on that philosophy when he spoke with reporters after Wednesday’s OTA session.

Transcription via the 49ers:

This is my personal opinion, if they ask me, invest in guys that touch the ball, guys that can touch the ball and score touchdowns. And then there’s a range of guys, second, third, fourth round, fifth round even, that we will find starting offensive linemen in. At some point can you draft them? Yeah, you draft Trent Williams. You pick a draft where you’re getting a difference maker. But there’s guys that can make a difference, that touch the ball, well into the second, third, fourth rounds, or second and third rounds, at least. And definitely in the first round. That guy that touches the ball, it makes a huge difference in the game. The right guard makes a difference, we’ve talked about it before, but that’s where we’re able to find fourth and fifth round draft picks. How dominant is the difference between pick 34 versus pick 54, in offensive line play? And that’s what you’re trying to balance all the time. So, will we draft the best available player, all those types of things? Definitely will. And were we possibly ready to draft guys higher in the draft? Yes. But if there’s somebody that can touch the ball and make plays, in my opinion, if you ask me, ‘Chris, do you want him?’ I want the guy that touches the ball, for me. Because I think we can develop those players much more readily and have developed those players through the times because we do have specific things that we’re looking for. We know what we’re looking for through the course of time. That’s the advantage of being together with Kyle for so long that we kind of can pigeonhole these guys. Are we always right? Heck no, we’re not always right and nobody is on anything. Could you put five first rounders across the front? I don’t know that we have to, to have success.

This is a fascinating insight from Foerster that likely reflects part of San Francisco’s team-building philosophy. They’ve invested in free agent centers to try and find stability at that spot, and they replaced Joe Staley with Williams via trade during the 2020 draft. Beyond that they’ve been able to piece together really good offenses by investing in big-time playmakers and then working around deficiencies on the offensive line.

While it’s hard to argue with given their success at putting up points and yards under Shanahan, there’s a counterargument that says their Super Bowl hopes have been derailed by dominant defensive linemen in all five years that they’ve fallen just short of their goal.

Given Williams’ age we may see the 49ers make another big investment on the offensive line soon to shore up the left tackle spot, but beyond that don’t expect San Francisco to suddenly start using premium draft capital up front because even the offensive line coach doesn’t believe in doing so.

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