You can argue that Trent Williams wasn’t quite Trent Williams in Week 2. It’s fair to say Dominick Puni wasn’t quite as impressive as in his NFL debut, and a lot of people have made the point that Jake Brendel has an annoying habit of being violently and quickly knocked backwards in pass protection.
Yet through the first two weeks of the 2024 season, the numbers are clear as to where the main problem on the San Francisco 49ers is located, and it’s in the exact same place as in 2023.
The 49ers did nothing to address the right tackle spot in free agency or in the NFL Draft this offseason. That is rapidly looking like an error of judgement.
By far the worst performer in terms of pass protection for the 49ers as they dropped to 1-1 with a 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings was right tackle Colton McKivitz, who gave up six pressures, per Pro Football Focus.
McKivitz was one of the worst pass protecting tackles in the league last season, his first as a starter, and the early evidence in 2024 suggests that has not changed.
And it is clear that he is still the weak link on the 49er offensive line when it comes to pass blocking.
Per Sports Info Solutions, Williams, Puni and Brendel each have blown block rates in pass protection of 1.3 percent. Left guard Aaron Banks is on 1.4 percent.
As for McKivitz, he has the ninth-worst blown block rate among all offensive linemen with at least 50 snaps. He has blown 7.6 percent of his pass blocks so far this season.
Even early in the season, such a disparity could theoretically lead to talk of McKivitz being benched. Yet there are a two main issues that make it highly unlikely McKivitz will suffer that fate this season, barring injury.
The first is that swing tackle Jaylon Moore is more comfortable on the left side. Veteran Chris Hubbard is on the practice squad, but he did not impress in preseason.
More pertinent than the lack of an alternative is McKivitz’s performance in the run game, an area in which he does not only have a single blown block on 57 run block snaps.
The 49ers’ starting O-Line only has two blown blocks in the run game, partially illustrating why San Francisco has prospered so significantly on the ground even without Christian McCaffrey.
San Francisco previously accepted some pass protection struggles in a trade-off for run blocking upside when Mike McGlinchey was the starting right tackle. It appears the 49ers are happy to do the same with McKivitz.
The 49ers could have had a potential long-term solution at right tackle in the second round of the draft, when they had the chance to take Kingsley Suamataia out of BYU. Instead, they traded the 63rd pick to the Kansas City Chiefs, who promptly took Suamataia.
Kansas City’s benching of Suamataia from his role of starting left tackle in Week 2 would point to that being a smart draft day move by the 49ers. The problem, though, is that Suamataia’s developmental journey is a long way from over, whereas McKivitz is likely as good as he is going to get.
McKivitz may be thriving in the run game. However, the 49ers’ last two seasons have ended in bitter playoff losses in part because of protection breakdowns on the right side. Missing a chance to fortify that flank in the draft looked like a mistake at the time and little has happened to change that perception.
The 49ers will hope it doesn’t cost them again in the playoffs, should they get there, but McKivitz’s performance in Minnesota was hardly one to inspire confidence. The absence of McCaffrey and now Deebo Samuel will hog all the headlines, but the continued struggles of McKivitz and the 49ers’ decision not to address the tackle spot properly this offseason are worthy of more attention as the Niners attempt to plot their course back to the Super Bowl.