The 49ers need to address both sides of the trenches this offseason. That's obvious. But which side of the trenches should they prioritize?
The 49ers offensive line certainly isn't a strength of the team, Aaron Banks is an impending free agent and Trent Williams missed seven games last season. And yet, the 49ers ran the ball well last season even without Christian McCaffrey.
The 49ers are a run-first team that creates big holes and creases for their ball carriers. Could they improve in pass protection? Absolutely.
But the 49ers run defense is simply awful. Last season, they gave up 1.5 yards before contact per attempt -- eighth worst in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus. Opposing running backs broke through to the second level of the 49ers' defense routinely.
If you can't stop the run in today's NFL, you can't compete with most of the best teams in the league. The 49ers must revamp their run defense immediately and turn it from a weakness to a strength.
And that means adding big defensive linemen who dominate against the run. Think Arik Armstead in his prime. Think Samson Ebukam a few seasons ago. They did so much of the dirty work and allowed others such as Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw to make plays.
When Robert Saleh first became the 49ers' defensive coordinator in 2017, the first thing he did was fix the run defense. Expect him to do the same this offseason.
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