49ers OL is Perfectly Placed by PFN in Latest Rankings

One of, if the not most, polarizing positions on the San Francisco 49ers is the offensive line.

It's a position that gets scrutinized to no end, which is extremely unnecessary. The 49ers' offensive line was by no means great in 2024, but they weren't atrocious either.

They are a middle-of-the-pack offensive line, and that is exactly where Pro Football Network has perfectly placed them at No. 15 overall in their latest rankings.

"It was a tough end to the season for the San Francisco 49ers' offensive line, and having Trent Williams out with an injury was a big reason why. Williams ranked second on the year in OT PBWR, with Jake Brendel being the only other 49ers OL getting listed on the individual leaderboards to end the year.

"With Williams absent, San Francisco posted four individual game grades of D+ or below in seven games. That led to their fall outside the top 10, ranking 18th over the final four weeks, thanks in part to a strong finish against the Cardinals. Unlike the Chiefs, San Francisco did not have the interior depth to play well while struggling at left tackle."

It makes total sense for the 49ers' offensive line to drop off significantly when Trent Williams was lost for the season. His impact is second-to-none.

That is why Brock Purdy recently called him his "safety blanket" because of how safe he feels when Williams is out there. However, the offensive drop-off isn't solely attached to Williams.

In fact, the main reason the 49ers' offensive gets unnecessary slack is because of Purdy.

"With a 37.1% pressure rate, the 49ers' pass-protection numbers looked bad on the surface, but their quarterbacks also hold the ball for over three seconds on average, ranking as the league's sixth-highest rate."

Well, what do you know? Purdy is responsible for the pressure because of how long he holds onto the ball. It's a point I've been bringing up all offseason.

Purdy is going to need to improve that in 2025, or it's going to be the same story. Again, the 49ers' offensive line is never as bad as critics make it out to be.

The same goes for their run blocking. I had believed it was their true weakness. Turns out, the offensive line analytics took a hit because of others as well.

"The main positive in San Francisco's numbers was run blocking, ranking fourth in RBYBC/rush (1.05). Yet, they ranked 24th in ESPN's RBWR metric, which suggests their yards before contact numbers are as much about the backs' style as the line's performance. When you combine those metrics, they average out as an average run-blocking group."

Hopefully now, the 49ers' offensive line gets a little more credit. At the very least, a little less scrutiny.