SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- In many ways, the San Francisco 49ers entered the 2025 NFL draft in a similar position to the one they held in 2018.
Like then, they were coming off a six-win season, holding a top-11 pick and in need of help at offensive tackle. That year, the Niners used the No. 9 selection on Notre Dame's Mike McGlinchey.
It was a pick that surprised some given the presence of Joe Staley (left tackle) and Trent Brown (right tackle), but San Francisco traded Brown to the New England Patriots, creating a starting spot for McGlinchey. He would go on to become a solid five-year starter before signing a lucrative free agent contract with the Denver Broncos in 2023.
McGlinchey's departure paired with left tackle Trent Williams, 36, operating on a year-to-year basis has left the 49ers in need of more bodies at one of the game's most important positions.
Despite that need to, at minimum, begin planning for their future, the 49ers have eschewed the position completely. They didn't draft a tackle in any round in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 drafts and haven't taken any tackles since Jaylon Moore in the fifth round of the 2021 draft.
Williams' age; Moore's free agent departure to the Kansas City Chiefs on a two-year, $30 million deal; and the forthcoming free agency for right tackle Colton McKivitz seemed to point to the 49ers using at least one pick on the position this year, potentially even at No. 11.
Instead, general manager John Lynch & Co. extended the streak of years without drafting an offensive tackle to four. The Niners didn't even sign an offensive tackle in rookie free agency, though they did sign veteran D.J. Humphries two days after the draft.
"There were a number of times that we were interested in adding, and it just didn't come our way," Lynch said. "And you've got to stay true to where you have guys graded, not take guys just to take them, but to take guys that you're interested in at that point. And it just never really aligned."
On paper, it appeared that, like 2018, this might be the year things did align for the 49ers to use their first pick on an offensive tackle. Since Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan arrived in 2017, the team hasn't shied away from the fact that they are picky when it comes to tackles.
First and foremost, the Niners want athletic tackles who can move well and easily get downfield to their targets in their zone-heavy run-blocking schemes. Offensive line coach Chris Foerster has also acknowledged that the team wants tackles to have at least 34-inch arms and guards to have at least 33-inch arms. The idea being that longer arms help them reach defenders quicker.
Because they didn't meet those parameters, it's possible the Niners might not have taken either of the first two tackles to be drafted this year -- LSU's Will Campbell and Missouri's Armand Membou -- had they slipped to No. 11. Texas' Kelvin Banks also didn't measure up, but the 49ers hosted him on a predraft visit.
But Banks didn't make it to No. 11, either, as the New Orleans Saints scooped him up at No. 9. The 49ers opted for defensive end Mykel Williams with their first-round pick but also had serious interest in Oregon offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr., who took a predraft visit to Santa Clara but went to the Washington Commanders with the 29th pick.
According to Lynch and Shanahan, the Niners' first three picks went as they had hoped, landing Williams, defensive tackle Alfred Collins (second round, No. 43 overall) and linebacker Nick Martin (third round, No. 75 overall).
But things seemed to be setting up for the 49ers to finally grab a developmental tackle with their final pick in the third round, No. 100 overall. As that selection neared, there were a couple of tackles still on the board -- Texas Tech's Caleb Rogers and William & Mary's Charles Grant -- whom the Niners had shown interest in before the draft.
Alas, the Las Vegas Raiders selected both Rogers and Grant with pick Nos. 98 and 99. When the third round was finished, Lynch hinted that the Niners might have gone a different direction before landing on Western Kentucky cornerback Upton Stout.
"We knew we wanted a nickel [back]," Lynch said. "There were a number of guys in play [there]."
A total of 11 tackles went off the board in the first three rounds, leaving options that the Niners simply didn't see as fits for the final seven picks they would make in Rounds 4-7. This was the case despite previous exceptions such as Moore and McKivitz offering excellent value as former fifth-round picks. The 49ers did, finally, take an offensive lineman in the seventh round, selecting Iowa guard Connor Colby with the 249th choice.
Although Colby started some games at right tackle for the Hawkeyes, Lynch made it clear he will be a guard in San Francisco. Colby figures to compete with a group that includes Ben Bartch, Matt Hennessy and Spencer Burford for the left guard job that's open because of Aaron Banks' free agent departure.
"We were happy to add Colby," Lynch said. "We think he's a really good scheme fit. Great thing about Iowa is they run a very similar, they run a lot of outside zones, so you get to see a guy like him do things that we do and he does them well."
As Lynch and Shanahan fielded questions at the draft's conclusion, Shanahan was asked who he expected to replace Moore as the team's swing tackle. Shanahan demurred, agreeing to the notion that incumbents such as Burford, Austen Pleasants and Sebastian Gutierrez could be in the mix for that job but noting that nothing was set in stone.
"There are usually other options too, as the season goes or all the way up until the season," Shanahan said. "There are options usually after cuts at the end of training camp. So, we'll see what our opening-day roster is, but we've got a lot of competition for there. But it's definitely not solidified yet."
Less than 48 hours later, that changed as the 49ers signed Humphries. The nine-year veteran tore his left ACL near the end of the 2023 season and spent the end of last year on the Kansas City Chiefs. Upon signing with the Niners, Humphries' agency declared that he is "back healthy and ready to work."
If nothing else, Humphries, 31, offers a veteran presence at swing tackle. But he's far from a long-term answer at a position where the Niners will need an answer soon.
Which is why, after another year of passing on offensive tackles in the draft in order to address the defensive line, the Niners might find themselves having no choice but to spend similar resources on the offensive front in 2026.