Which would you prefer? Great OL, mediocre WR, or mediocre OL, great WR?

So in other words, would we rather be the Colts or the 49ers? I'm taking the 49ers.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

Originally posted by ChuckLeavy32:

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:
Great HC and QB

If the Chiefs have proven anything it's this.

To be fair I think they have a better pass blocking offensive line than us. Ours is not very good.

Ya, they sure know how to f**king hold without getting a flag... At least when they play SF in the Superbowl.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
I actually think the great offensive line is better. Which is the opposite of how this team builds. But it keeps biting us in the Super Bowl against the elites. So you see how that goes. Shanahan thinks he can just keep adding more WR's and that's the answer. I think it's terrible and costs us. It's not why we lost. A 1st round WR was not what we need. But I hope for the best for the Pearsall pick.

Which was a better offense, the 2011 49ers or 2023 49ers?

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
I actually think the great offensive line is better. Which is the opposite of how this team builds. But it keeps biting us in the Super Bowl against the elites. So you see how that goes. Shanahan thinks he can just keep adding more WR's and that's the answer. I think it's terrible and costs us. It's not why we lost. A 1st round WR was not what we need. But I hope for the best for the Pearsall pick.

Which was a better offense, the 2011 49ers or 2023 49ers?

2011 had Al_EXCUSES Smith. 2023 had Brock_STAR Brees Purdy. Pretty sure that makes a difference. As Alex couldn't throw more than 7 - 10 yards. Purdy can hit down the field. Not exactly apples to apples. Yes I would much rather have that offensive line. Minus the fact of Trent Williams. That line is far better and I wish we had the equivalent.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
2011 had Al_EXCUSES Smith. 2023 had Brock_STAR Brees Purdy. Pretty sure that makes a difference. As Alex couldn't throw more than 7 - 10 yards. Purdy can hit down the field. Not exactly apples to apples. Yes I would much rather have that offensive line. Minus the fact of Trent Williams. That line is far better and I wish we had the equivalent.

Could switch the QBs and the 2023 offense would still be better. More playmakers and a much better system. O line can't make up for holes in all of those.

Though in all honeslty the 2011 OL wasn't that much of an upgrade in pass blocking from this one. It was run blocking where they were dominant.

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
2011 had Al_EXCUSES Smith. 2023 had Brock_STAR Brees Purdy. Pretty sure that makes a difference. As Alex couldn't throw more than 7 - 10 yards. Purdy can hit down the field. Not exactly apples to apples. Yes I would much rather have that offensive line. Minus the fact of Trent Williams. That line is far better and I wish we had the equivalent.

Could switch the QBs and the 2023 offense would still be better. More playmakers and a much better system. O line can't make up for holes in all of those.

Though in all honeslty the 2011 OL wasn't that much of an upgrade in pass blocking from this one. It was run blocking where they were dominant.

Iupati helped a lot with run blocking. He was a bulldozer.

Alex can't play like Purdy. Purdy has timing, anticipation, reads, progressions, excellent mechanics and tremendous throwing accuracy. He's like a young Drew Brees. Plus he can throw down the field. Alex was limited to about a 10 yard box for throws for the most part. LOL. I think Alex to Purdy is night to day. Just no comparison at all. Not even in the same category.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
Iupati helped a lot with run blocking. He was a bulldozer.

Alex can't play like Purdy. Purdy has timing, anticipation, reads, progressions, excellent mechanics and tremendous throwing accuracy. He's like a young Drew Brees. Plus he can throw down the field. Alex was limited to about a 10 yard box for throws for the most part. LOL. I think Alex to Purdy is night to day. Just no comparison at all. Not even in the same category.

He could play like Jimmy and the offense would still be successful though. Just a downgrade. Alex was a solid QB once he finally got his first taste of a real passing game in KC.

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
Iupati helped a lot with run blocking. He was a bulldozer.

Alex can't play like Purdy. Purdy has timing, anticipation, reads, progressions, excellent mechanics and tremendous throwing accuracy. He's like a young Drew Brees. Plus he can throw down the field. Alex was limited to about a 10 yard box for throws for the most part. LOL. I think Alex to Purdy is night to day. Just no comparison at all. Not even in the same category.

He could play like Jimmy and the offense would still be successful though. Just a downgrade. Alex was a solid QB once he finally got his first taste of a real passing game in KC.

Brock_STAR Purdy > Al_EXCUSES by a lot. It's not close IMO.

Originally posted by fryet:
So far, it seems that everyone is in agreement with me. Having a great OL is more important for the 49ers than great WR. Let's face it, we don't throw the ball to them enough to justify it.
I would also argue that WR are currently overvalued in today's NFL market. Each year, a ton of talented WR enter the NFL draft, often from spread offenses that have given them plenty of opportunities to hone their skills. The 49ers can probably have a decent WR core by just drafting one in the 2nd or 3rd round each year. But the OL helps the passing game, keeps your QB healthy, and most importantly would be a force multiplier to the 49ers strong rushing attack.
This past year, the only area we could run effectively against a run defense was the left side of the OL which made us too predictable. With a stronger OL, we could have had great success rushing to either side, forcing defenses to sell out to stop the run, which would then open up the passing game more.

You need OLinemen that have size/strength and athleticism for Kyle's system. To get those kinds of OLinemen, you have to get them at minimum in the day two pick level talent (example Trent Williams). You need Size and Athleticism for Kyles system because you need size for pass protection and athleticism for Kyle's outside zone runs. That's tough to get both at the day 3 level talent picks, usually as I said before these kinds of OLinemen (that have both size and athleticism) go in day 1.

On top of that (size, strength, athleticism) you need smarts (Trent Williams example again) - because Kyle does both Gap/Man and zone blocking. I like what Kyle is doing with Kingston and Puni. Get a big athletic guy and develop his smarts, and get a smart guy and develop his athleticism and size. Same way he developed his QB's in RGIII and Kirk Cousins, so in 2021 Kyle picked Trey Lance high and the next year he Picked Purdy last. What he did right was consistently invest in the QB position until he got his franchise QB (Purdy).

Great OL helps both facets. Even with OK receivers, a quarterback with all day to throw will eventually find them and will have a great running game to take off pressure and keep the team balanced.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
Great OL helps both facets. Even with OK receivers, a quarterback with all day to throw will eventually find them and will have a great running game to take off pressure and keep the team balanced.

I agree and I wish our line was better. I wish they would invest more in it and draft some offensive linemen early. I want a Dallas or Detroit line. Or Eagles line. You can make the argument we beat those teams and some will here. But you can't argue all 3 have a better offensive line than us. Minus Trent Williams and it's not close. Maybe if we had a better line we could actually block Chris Jones and WIN a SUPER BOWL. Instead of constantly losing that game. Which is getting really old. It's the missing link.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
Great OL helps both facets. Even with OK receivers, a quarterback with all day to throw will eventually find them and will have a great running game to take off pressure and keep the team balanced.

Agree 💯 % with with you -- but with the caveat that you have to have a QB like Brock/Brees with the anticipation and accuracy to hit those WRs covered by DBs. When given the time.

Jimmy G. (For example) he wasn't accurate past a certain limited range and so buying him time with a good OLine wasn't going to be a wise investment considering his QB limitations.

I get "all day to throw" is intentionally a bit hyperbolic, but you shouldnt need to invest in OL that can consistently keep their QB pressure free in pass pro for longer than ~3 seconds. If you find your team needing that, it's not OL but QB/WR/Coaching that they need.

Originally posted by adrianlesnar:

I get "all day to throw" is intentionally a bit hyperbolic, but you shouldnt need to invest in OL that can consistently keep their QB pressure free in pass pro for longer than ~3 seconds. If you find your team needing that, it's not OL but QB/WR/Coaching that they need.

It's more about protecting the most important asset on your team. Having a star cast doesn't mean much if the OL isn't good enough to keep him safe.

Joe Burrow is the perfect example. Dude has been bludgeoned out there and missed so much time it really hasn't mattered that they've had arguably the best receiving group in the NFL.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by adrianlesnar:
I get "all day to throw" is intentionally a bit hyperbolic, but you shouldnt need to invest in OL that can consistently keep their QB pressure free in pass pro for longer than ~3 seconds. If you find your team needing that, it's not OL but QB/WR/Coaching that they need.

It's more about protecting the most important asset on your team. Having a star cast doesn't mean much if the OL isn't good enough to keep him safe.

Joe Burrow is the perfect example. Dude has been bludgeoned out there and missed so much time it really hasn't mattered that they've had arguably the best receiving group in the NFL.

I guess it depends on how you'd define mediocre.

But assuming you had a plus level QB and a plus level offensive scheme, I'd take the 12-15th ranked OL and top 3 weapons over top 3 OL and 12-15 ranked weapons. How bout you?