Kyle Shanahan Believes the 49ers Offensive Line is Fine

Kyle Shanahan would disagree with anyone who believes the 49ers have issues on the offensive line, especially at center.

Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers center Jake Brendel (64) is introduced before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Offensive line seems to be one of the top areas of needs on the 49ers.

It only emphasized after the Super Bowl when the Eagles looked fierce in the trenches. That is a model the 49ers should replicate, especially since it'll help Brock Purdy.

However, the 49ers do not have a bad offensive line. That seems to be a narrative that most fans believe, which isn't true at all.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan also believes the 49ers' offensive line is fine. He believes they've been playing at a high level, especially center Jake Brendel. He's been at the forefront of the offensive line criticism.

"I thought Jake played well," said Shanahan. "When you study centers throughout the league and you watch all these guys, I think Jake's up there when it comes to his pass protection. I think Jake does his protections as good as anyone in this league. I think he's always been a pretty good run player for us too."

The only spot that Shanahan noted on the offensive line was the obvious -- left guard. Aaron Banks is gone, so the 49ers will see who can slide in there.

Other than that, they are fine at left tackle, right guard, right tackle, and center. I'm sure that isn't going to sound great to a lot of people, but it's the truth.

Could the 49ers use an improvement on the offensive line? Sure, but you can say that about the majority of teams. The 49ers' offensive line gets overly criticized.

It likely has to do with seeing Purdy flustered and scrambling a lot last season. However, much of that was his fault. Purdy was holding the ball for way too long last season.

He had the sixth-highest time to throw (2.93 seconds) of all passers, but the ninth-highest pressure rate. How does he have all day to throw, yet he's facing a lot of pressure?

He's holding the ball too long. Purdy was trying to do too much last season and wasn't playing within himself, which is why he had a down year.

Offensive is not as pressing a need for the 49ers as it may seem. Banks was the worst player on the line, not Brendel, and he's in Green Bay now.

The 49ers' plan for the offensive line should be to find the future replacement for Trent Williams and maybe even Colton McKivitz.

Other than that, they are fine there and should be concentrating their efforts on the defensive side.