The 49ers offensive line coach broke down his thoughts for how the right guard battle could work out
The San Francisco 49ers seem to have a position battle on their hands along the offensive line, as they drafted Kansas’s Dominick Puni in the third round to compete with 2021 fourth-rounder Spencer Burford and veteran Jon Feliciano, who each spent time at right guard last season.
While Burford began the year as the starter, Feliciano eventually worked into the fold and took the full-time job as the season went along, as his experience proved to be key.
Now, San Francisco is back in offseason mode, and Feliciano is working at center while starter Jake Brendel deals with knee arthritis, allowing for the younger guards to get more reps on the right side.
What is offensive line coach Chris Foerster looking for with his front five and specifically at that right guard spot?
“The offensive line play, we’ve talked about it before, consistency, talent, [you can have] all this ability in the world, but, man, when it comes down to things happening quickly, being consistent, play in and play out, understanding the offense, how the defense plays it, every little intricate piece of this thing, it’s not just about pass blocking and run blocking,” Foerster shared earlier this week.
“There’s so much that goes into it that you just miss a little detail, a little adjustment and a lot of times it’s things that come up that I can’t cover. You have to understand and embrace the concept of the play or the, or whatever we’re doing so to know that, ‘oh, gosh, but if I follow my rules, this is where it takes me,’ and that’s what we’re looking for.”
That consistency and intelligence was something that the 49ers coveted as they went into the draft this year, and Foerster believes the team covered their bases in that department well.
“That’s one of the things that all these guys we took this year [have],” Foerster said. “[During the draft, general manager John Lynch said] we found that with offensive linemen that, that what it takes, the character, the intelligence, all those things. Not saying one of our guys don’t have it, but those picks, after those first couple talent rounds, the guys are just playing because of sheer ability and talent. Those guys in the offensive line, they got to have that thing, that thing that they can figure it out.”
Foerster equated playing at offensive line to being a coach, as you have to be that knowledgeable to the level where you can teach the position to play at your best.
Ultimately, with traits taking over, there have been more and more cases where the NFL has leaned away from that direction and looked to the upside that traits provide.
“At some point, if you don’t make it as a player, you coach as an offensive lineman because the game, you understand the game, you’re intrigued by the game. It’s cool to coach it, teach little pieces of it and all that stuff like that. And that’s what these guys have to be. They literally have to be coaches on the field. And so sometimes the further away you get from the ball, the tackles, they have to have a little bit less of it.”
“And that’s what analytics has found out, that as we start analyzing those character traits, those intelligent traits that we’ve kind of found out that as you go with offensive line, it tends to be a little bit more leans that direction. Now, is that everybody? I don’t know how that works for every other team in the league, but for us, [we want] those types of guys. So that’s what we’re looking for in that position, that position right now.”
Looking directly at the 49ers situation, Foerster shared that the consistency aspect was why the team went with Jon Feliciano over Spencer Burford last season, even though the latter was the more “talented” player.
“That’s how a guy like Feliciano played with just a little more consistency. And was it a lot? I say no. Spencer came to me when we didn’t put him back in the lineup, he goes, ‘coach, am I playing?’ I said no, but it’s, it’s two or three plays. It’s just two. It’s not many. You know, everybody else is great and here and you’re just those two or three plays a game and you just don’t know what, when they’re going to show up and how they’re going to show up. And so those two or three plays are just like, ‘gosh, we just got to get those two or three plays better.’”
Now, ahead of the upcoming season, Foerster’s main objective is to try and find that consistency at the position, which is where the competition factor comes in.
The hope is that the blend of talent and consistency can provide the 49ers with a high quality guard, but the former takes precedence over the latter in the offensive line coach’s eyes.
Still, it was intriguing to hear Foerster call Burford the most talented player of the group, with the recently-drafted Puni up there as well.
“We’re just looking for that consistency. Maybe it comes from Spencer this year. Obviously, he’s the most talented of the players,” Foerster said. “I think he’s as talented or more than Puni. Puni will push that from that. And John’s just a guy that is a veteran, good player that knows how to get it done, very savvy, good vet player.”
“But these talented guys, when they figure it out and that’s what you keep hoping. So maybe it comes from Spence, maybe it comes from Puni, maybe it comes from somebody else. I don’t know where it comes from, but we’re hoping we can get just a little more consistent play out of that position.”