How the 49ers plan to protect Brock Purdy — and why they didn’t draft an offensive tackle

During the second night of the NFL draft last Friday, the 49ers waited for their turn at pick No. 100. That was the final selection of the third round, and — after opening the draft with three straight picks for the defensive front seven — there was plenty of reason to believe they’d take an offensive tackle.

In fact, two intriguing O-line prospects — Texas Tech’s Caleb Rogers and William & Mary’s Charles Grant — remained available as No. 100 approached. The 49ers had scouted both extensively during the pre-draft process; Rogers was one of the top-30 visits to the facility while the team conducted a private workout with Grant. And though he was a raw prospect, Grant met the stringent physical standards that the 49ers have for the tackle position.

The Las Vegas Raiders owned two consecutive picks, No. 98 and 99, before the 49ers’ turn. With No. 98, they nabbed Rogers. And then — in what might’ve been a shock to the 49ers — the Raiders also grabbed Grant at No. 99.

The 49ers ended up drafting Western Kentucky defensive back Upton Stout at No. 100. He addresses a pressing need at nickelback and plays (and talks) with the type of ebullience that fits the 49ers’ secondary. General manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan are undoubtedly excited about that pick.

But as we study the 2025 draft in its aftermath, it’s absolutely fair to wonder if the Raiders did undercut the 49ers for an O-lineman at that spot.

“There were a number of times that we were interested in adding [an offensive tackle] and it just didn’t come our way,” Lynch said after the draft. “And you’ve got to stay true to where you have guys graded and not take guys just to take them but to take guys that you’re interested in at that point. And it just never really aligned. It’s one of those deals where you don’t want to force things.”

The 49ers did ultimately add an offensive lineman, Iowa’s Connor Colby, in the seventh round. He was an exceptionally athletic four-year starter at a school known for developing quality run-blocking talent (the same program that developed star tight end George Kittle) and should immediately compete for the 49ers’ open job at left guard.

“We think he’s a really good scheme fit,” Lynch said. “Great thing about Iowa is they run a very similar scheme. They run a lot of outside zones, so you get to see a guy like him do things that we do and he does them well.”

RJ Gillen, one of the team’s directors of player personnel, said the 49ers were surprised Colby was still on the board in the seventh round.

“We were talking about how many good players were still available,” Gillen said. “I think it was a really deep year. Last year, we were a little bummed with how many good players returned to school and I think that showed this year in terms of the depth of the draft and how many good players were still there in [rounds] six and seven.”

The 49ers also think that they might’ve unearthed a gem in undrafted free agency. Like Colby, Colorado State guard Drew Moss posted exemplary movement scores that pair well with his solid run-blocking film. Moss is undersized (which is probably why he wasn’t drafted) but athletic enough for the 49ers to wager a 90-man roster spot on his development.

So the 49ers are clearly optimistic about the prospect of immediate interior-line improvement (they were weakest at left guard last year; that’s where starter Aaron Banks left to the Green Bay Packers in free agency). However, the team remains in longer-term limbo at tackle — even after signing veteran D.J. Humphries on Tuesday.

He’s a former Pro Bowler, but Humphries will turn 32 this season and has yet to regain old form after tearing his ACL to close the 2023 season. The former Arizona Cardinals’ first-round pick played for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024 and allowed three sacks and 11 pressures over just 69 pass-blocking snaps. With Humphries’ injury further in the rearview mirror, the 49ers hope that he can now more closely resemble his old self. But this is clearly more of a prove-it signing than a definite answer to swirling questions at swing tackle.

In addition to Humphries, the 49ers have Spencer Burford and Austen Pleasants in the bullpen to back up starters Trent Williams and Colton McKivitz. Barring unforeseen circumstances, that duo — and it isn’t a bad one, especially after McKivitz showed marked improvement in 2024 — will again start for the 49ers in 2025. Williams will be 37 this season and McKivitz is on the final year of his contract, so the clock is ticking for the 49ers to establish a succession plan.

That’s why they were very interested in drafting an offensive tackle this year — and why they’ll likely be forced to draft one in 2026.

Here in 2025, the 49ers’ most pressing needs very clearly came on defense and special teams. They ranked No. 26 and No. 32, respectively, in those two phases of the game over 2024. That led to a roster and coaching purge in both of those departments and set the table for heavy draft prioritization there.

The offensive line, despite plentiful outside handwringing, hasn’t yet hit Code Red — even though that looks to be coming in 2026.

The 49ers’ O-line ranked No. 11 in Pro Football Focus’ cumulative pass-blocking grade and No. 14 in ESPN’s pass-blocking grade over 2024. Those are above-average marks. They also have a quarterback, Brock Purdy, who has ranked in the top five of pressure-to-sack ratio since he entered the NFL. That means Purdy mitigates pass-protecting struggles. There’s plenty there to believe that the 49ers, especially given a healthy Williams and better receiver separation scores in 2025, can succeed with this offensive line. In fact, they were a play away from winning a Super Bowl with an objectively worse front in 2023.

The team’s brain trust has echoed that sentiment throughout this offseason.

“We’ll try to improve our offensive line through the draft, but there are a lot of good pieces there already,” Lynch said at the end of March. “We like our right tackle. We like our center. For left guard, we have some candidates in-house right now. But will we look to add in the draft? Certainly. That’s something where I don’t follow the [social media] narrative on how our guys are. We evaluate our players, and we think we have a pretty steady group.”

The 49ers have indeed added to it, but not with any huge splashes. Those will be necessary, and perhaps very soon — but not yet.