The San Francisco 49ers absolutely cannot mess this draft up if they want to have a chance at a Super Bowl victory within the next couple of seasons.
The three main positions that are needed are interior offensive linemen, wide receivers and defensive tackles.
I think the 49ers need to draft a left guard in the first round, a wide receiver in the second round, a left tackle in the third round and defensive tackle depth pieces in the fourth round.
What has me upset over a long period of time is that the 49ers have only drafted one offensive lineman in the first round since 2018.
The facts of how badly quarterbacks Brock Purdy and Mac Jones were protected by the offensive line, especially by left guards, speak for themselves.
Left guard Spencer Burford had the worst pressure rate amongst all 32 starting left guards in the league at 7.89%, according to Yahoo Sports.
With how much the 49ers kept switching left guards between Burford, Ben Bartch and Connor Colby throughout the season because of bad performances and injuries, it’s obvious that an immediate upgrade at the position is needed.
But it’s not just the left guards who struggled on the offensive line; the line struggled as a whole throughout the season.
No guards made the top-20 rankings in Pro Football Focus (PFF) gradings, according to 49erswebzone.com.
Right guard Dominick Puni was ranked 26th in PFF grading among guards, but it was obvious that he had a huge letdown of a year coming off a phenomenal rookie season the previous season, according to the same source.
Another key factor is the age and health of future Hall of Fame left tackle Trent Williams, who will be 38 this coming season.
While still playing at an elite level, he did show signs of slowing down and it’s only a matter of time before he calls it a career.
Although a successor for Williams is much needed, the 49ers’ left guard and interior line struggles should be their top priority.
For wide receivers, the problem isn’t their lack of production, it’s mainly injuries, contracts and off-field drama.
49ers wide receiver and 2024 first-round draft pick Ricky Pearsall has had major injury problems since joining the NFL.
He missed the first six games of his NFL career because of a gunshot wound, so that can easily be excused, but last season, he missed eight games by suffering a grade 2 PCL sprain that lingered throughout the season.
The same about injuries can be said about wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, but his off-field conflicts with the coaches and front offices are the highlight of it all.
Aiyuk suffered a torn ACL and MCL during the 2024 season.
But while rehabbing the injury, things got heated between Aiyuk and the front office when they voided $27 million worth of guaranteed money in his contract after Aiyuk kept skipping team meetings and activities.
And speaking of contracts, wide receiver Jauan Jennings, the most productive at the position last season, is a free agent who is looking for a massive deal, which is one that the 49ers might not be willing to make.
With Aiyuk never playing in a 49ers jersey again, Pearsall’s injury woes and Jennings’ contract situation, the team needs a playmaker in a huge way, so a second-round draft pick on a wide receiver sounds ideal.
On the defensive side of the ball, no quarterback would even think of fearing the 49ers’ defensive line unlike in consecutive years prior.
The 49ers were last in the league with only 20 sacks on the season, according to ESPN.
And that’s not to blame the entire line for because two star defensive ends, Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams, both tore their ACLs midway through the season.
Without two-star defensive ends, the 49ers had nobody who stood out in their pass-rushing attack, especially the defensive tackles who only combined for 5.5 sacks.
But even with defensive tackles struggling to get sacks, stopping the run is way more important.
A huge mistake that the 49ers coaching staff made was not giving more playing time to Alfred Collins and C.J. West, two defensive tackles and run-stopping machines who could’ve given the run defense much-needed help.
If the coaching staff can play these two stars way more than last season, all the front office would need to do is draft some depth pieces at defensive tackle in case Collins and West get injured.
In the last draft, the 49ers seemed to be looking at the future instead of the present, but I think they need to focus on now instead of later if they want to have the highest chances of getting back to the Super Bowl.
By drafting the right pieces at the right time and having fewer injuries, we could possibly see the 49ers back in the Super Bowl conversation next season.
