The 49ers’ OL coach explains why the team didn’t have to spend a lot of money to improve the line.

In the last six offseasons, the Niners have made a big investment in only one offensive lineman. They traded two mid-round picks to acquire Williams in 2020 and then rewarded him with a top-of-the-market contract worth about $138 million the following offseason.

The rest of the line is mostly filled with later picks and low-priced free agents, allowing the Niners to dedicate more resources to pass rushers on defense and playmakers on offense.

Could you arrange the front five first-round picks? “I’m not sure if it’s necessary for us to succeed,” Foerster remarked. “In terms of running the football and safeguarding the quarterback, that hasn’t been the case. Since we don’t have five first-round picks, that situation will always exist. However, even if the right tackle is being pressured, you may still send a short pass to Deebo that results in a 60-yard score. Indeed, the right tackle stops someone, but the 60-yard score is lost if the player is tackled at 5 yards. That right tackle did a fantastic job, boy. Why does it matter if the person who was handling the ball couldn’t carry it inside the house?

Foerster, who began coaching offensive line in the NFL in 1992, said he really came to adopt this stance on building an offensive line in the mid 2000s when he saw what the Patriots did with mostly average blockers and dynamic playmakers around Tom Brady.

Foerster said it’s easier to scheme around blocking with chips, slides, double teams or quick releases than it is to scheme around receivers who can’t get open.

But there are some limitations and he believes the group of linemen he has next to Williams is good enough, as evidenced by the success San Francisco has had on offense in recent years.

“There´s a line below that with offensive line play that if you just drop a little bit below it, it´s a gaping hole,” Foerster said. “All of a sudden, you´re like, `He can´t block anybody.´ And now we got a major problem. But as long as they´re at that line and just above it, you can survive it.”In the Chiefs’ February Super Bowl loss, play on the line did turn out to be costly. The Chiefs had enough time to drive for a game-tying touchdown due to San Francisco’s inability to capitalize on a third-down blitz late in regulation. In overtime, a blown assignment in the red zone resulted in a field goal rather than a touchdown, which added to the team’s 25-22 defeat.

Following their decision to pass on possible tackles in rounds one and two, the 49ers selected Dominick Puni in the third round, making him potentially the new starter at right guard and San Francisco’s largest offseason investment in the line.

We examined a lot of guys during the course of the procedure. After the selection, general manager John Lynch stated, “I think it’s oftentimes hard to find a tackle that you really love when you’re drafting 31st.” “And we like our tackles as they stand right now.”