Trent Williams believes he could only have two more seasons in him before retirement.
What does that mean for the 49ers, who haven’t necessarily found a promising protégé for the future Hall of Fame left tackle?
The last time the 49ers used a first- or second-round pick on an offensive lineman was in 2021, when they drafted guard Aaron Banks at No. 48 overall. Former Pro Bowl tackle Andrew Whitworth believes that’s not on accident.
“To me, it does scream that maybe they just don’t have a lot of confidence in their ability to select the right one, because this is the problem with offensive linemen: When you’re going to allocate a first-round pick or second-round pick to an offensive lineman, a lot of people love that theory, but you better be damn good at picking it,” Whitworth told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco at the American Century Championship on Wednesday.
“Because when you hit on an offensive lineman, it can be unbelievable for your franchise early in the draft because a great offensive line, a great D-line is the story to successful football teams. But when you miss on a high pick like that … you draft an unproductive lineman, you are cooked because now you’re getting a second, third, fourth-tier lineman who’s going to have to play.”
As for Banks, he’s no longer with San Francisco after signing a four-year, $77 million deal with the Green Bay Packers; 2018 selection Mike McGlinchey (the last lineman drafted in the first round by the 49ers) also is not with the franchise.
“I think there’s a lot of coaches, a lot of GMs and scouts and everything else out there that, I don’t know if they understand the position as well as maybe they think they do,” Whitworth told Maiocco. “I think that’s a tough position. You have to have some rare traits to be really good at that. So that’s why I think every year there’s a couple just primo guys that if you don’t get one of them, you’re guessing a little bit and you’re hoping that there’s some development things that happen.”
While San Francisco has refrained from spending many early draft picks on their O-line, the team’s offense has still consistently been one of the best in the league. For that, Whitworth credits one gigantic reason: Trent Williams.
“They’ve had arguably — what I would consider in my opinion — the greatest of all time in Trent Williams as their left tackle,” Whitworth told Maiocco. “But when he’s gone, we are going to have to draft a guy. We are going to have to develop some young guys that become elite guys if we want to continue to have success, because a lot of their offensive success has been built around Trent. If you look at their team when he’s not in there, there’s a huge difference and fall-off in their production offensively.”
It’s impossible to replace a player like Williams, but the 49ers eventually will have to draft a top-tier lineman if they hope to keep their offense clicking once the time comes for the 15-year veteran to hang up his cleats.