Kyle Shanahan is unquestionably one of the best head coaches in the NFL. Specifically, his ability to leverage his offensive scheme to get more out of marginal player talents has been on display for the better part of a decade. As a result, 49ers president of football operations John Lynch has taken a unique approach to building the roster.
In an ongoing series on Substack, I have been going division by division looking at how each team invests in their roster, quantifying every player investment, including draft pick investments. This creates a single number to evaluate which teams are really pouring into their roster, and which teams are skimping.
The 49ers have put less into their roster than the rest of the NFC West
This may come as a shock to some, because San Francisco has traditionally been a high-cash-spending team. That hasn't changed much this year. They are still top-10 in cash spending in 2026 according to Over the Cap. But they are also the third-lowest draft investment team in the NFL. Their draft misses over the years limit the total investments lining their roster. It has also allowed all of their divisional opponents to outpace them in overall roster investments.
The total I have them projected for is $437.8 million. That falls short of the Rams by $9 million, the Cardinals by $23 million, and the division-leading Seahawks by $48 million.*
*This analysis was done prior to the Seahawks coming to terms with DT Leonard Williams and CB Devon Witherspoon on long-term extensions. Those deals would only increase their resource spending, leaving the overall point intact.
Where the 49ers try to build an edge
Shanahan is so good at scheming up pass protection on early downs and positive game scripts. Lynch has not invested much into the offensive line overall. As a matter of fact, the 49ers have the smallest investment in their offensive line in the entire NFL at just $61 million.
Left tackle Trent Williams accounts for almost half of the total. Beyond Williams, only one other lineman accounts for an investment of $10 million or more. That's right tackle Colton McKivitz, who barely clears the threshold at $10.1 million in cash.
Finding diamonds in the rough is a big part of every good player personnel executive's job. The 49ers thought they were doing just that when they selected guard Dominick Puni in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. His rookie season certainly backed up that claim, but 2025 was a down year. If he can return to his rookie form, then the team is getting an extremely high return on the $8.3 million they have invested in him this year ($1.3 million salary and $7.0 million in draft pick value).
Instead of investing in the offensive line beyond a single superstar, the team has chosen to give out mega deals for skill positions like running back, quarterback, and tight end. They have also invested by far the most resources into their linebacker position with almost $30 million in cash devoted to their starting duo of Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw.
Conventional NFL wisdom states that you build through the trenches. The 49ers have consistently shown they build their scheme that way. Because of that, it has led them to devise a roster-building strategy that leans finding edges in other areas of the roster. It's unique. It's smart. But it's also dangerous.
The scheme can only hold up so much, and committing half of their already scant offensive line resources to an aging and increasingly injured left tackle leaves them open to a massive problem down the road. One that Shanahan's scheme may only be able to cover so much of.
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