Kyle Shanahan Explains Why He's Confident in the 49ers Offensive Line

ORLANDO -- Everyone knows the 49ers' weakest position is their offensive line.

It's subpar. And yet, the 49ers made no changes to it this offseason. In fact, they brought back all five starters because apparently they like it just the way it is.

On Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting, Kyle Shanahan was asked why he's so confident in the offensive line in general and right tackle Colton McKivitz in particular. Here's what Shanahan said.

Q: You guys have brought back your entire offensive line. How much does that continuity lead you to believe that the line will be better from Day 1 and continue to grow?

SHANAHAN: "Yeah, I think the more our O-line played together, the better it got. It's the one position on the field where five guys really have to work a lot in practice and in the offseason to OTAs to training camp to throughout the year. You watch our O-line, usually in the last half of the year compared to the first, it usually gets better if you can stay healthy. We've been able to do that for the most part. Excited to get everyone back. We'll always keep looking to add through the draft and things like that, get some more competition in there, but been really happy with our group."

Q: Why did you sign Colton McKivitz to an extension?

SHANAHAN: "He has done a hell of a job at right tackle for us. We have a lot of confidence in him going into this year. He's the exact type of guy we want. He's one of the real leaders on our team. I thought he did a hell of a job playing this year."

The 49ers clearly don't have high standards for their offensive line, considering McKivitz was one of the worst starting right tackles in football last season, and he's the exact type of guy the 49ers want at the position.

Go figure.