After starting the 2025 season 3-0, the San Francisco 49ers have traded wins and loses since. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has his team at an impressive 6-3 mark given the number of injuries to the roster.
One of the few positions without the depth to withstand such a growing list of physical ailments is San Francisco's offensive line. Protecting the quarterback, regardless of which one it is, has been a problem.
The Niners have struggled to adequately open up rushing lanes while also failing to protect quarterback Mac Jones. San Francisco has given up 16 sacks in the seven games that Jones has played, including two more against the New York Giants in Week 9.
While all of those 16 sacks aren't wholly on the O-line, the bulk are. And people are noticing.
Even Richard Sherman chimed in on 49ers' O-line issues
Following the Week 7 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, former 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman took to his podcast as he called the interior offensive line the team's "Achilles heel." In doing so, the current Amazon Prime analyst highlighted the lack of strong blocking as "devastating to this offense" in addition to "wasting Christian McCaffrey's" talent.
Sherman's comments did not stop there as he also added that San Francisco was "unable to block linebackers" and "whiff or not block at all" on a number of plays.
Two weeks later, Sherman was critical of the 49ers offensive line once more after the team's third loss of the season:
49ers offensive Line cannot block the Texans DLine. The 49ers Offense has 10 plays and I have seen Jauan Jennings attempting to Black Danielle Hunter and Matt Hennessy pull around on a play action and try to block Will Anderson. Those are recipes for disaster.
49ers Defense…
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) October 26, 2025
Last week against the Texans, 49ers quarterback Mac Jones was sacked twice in the Week 9 loss. Even since getting tagged with six sacks in the loss to the Bucs, San Francisco has given up multiple sacks in two of its last three games.
Even though Sherman admitted the Niners O-line played well enough in Week 9's win over the G-Men, he also pointed out the obvious on how the whiffs usually wind up being big ones:
The 49ers will definitely be looking for OL help in next years draft. They have been solid today but when there is an issue it’s a HUGE play.
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) November 2, 2025
During the 2025 NFL Draft, the 49ers used just one of their 11 selections to elevate the offensive line, offensive guard Connor Colby, who wasn't even taken until the seventh round.
Sherman continued by saying, "That offensive line needs to be the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 priority this offseason. If you're going to pay [Brock Purdy] all the money you're going to have to pay him, you want to keep him upright so he can be the playmaker that he has been."
Even McCaffrey has felt the effects of an under-performing O-line. The 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year recorded his fourth rushing touchdown this year after failing to post one in the first five games for San Francisco.
If San Francisco hopes to remain in contention, the O-line must find a better way of protecting Jones (or Purdy).