The San Francisco 49ers don't have many holes on their stacked roster. However, a weakness many have consistently pointed to is on the right side of the offensive line.

San Francisco's struggles in that area have diminished somewhat this season thanks to the emergence of rookie right guard Dominick Puni.

However, doubts around Colton McKivitz have persisted, the 2020 fifth-round pick seemingly doing little to shed his reputation as the weak link up front following a difficult first season as the starting right tackle in 2023.

McKivitz struggled markedly in pass protection last season, allowing nine sacks, tied for the fourth-most among tackles, per Pro Football Focus. His 47 pressures given up in the regular season were the eighth-most at the position.

He was better in the run game, ranking 31st of 87 tackles with at least 100 run block snaps in PFF run block grade.

So far this season, McKivitz has given up only one sack after receiving an extension in the offseason in a show of faith from the Niners. However, he has allowed 14 pressures, the fifth-most among offensive tackles, per PFF, indicating that he has made few strides as a pass blocker.

It is in the run game where he has clearly made progress. McKivitz is tied for the eighth-highest PFF run block grade among all tackles. His standing in that regard is reflective of his impressive execution as a run blocker. Indeed, McKivitz has just one blown block on 114 run block snaps, per Sports Info Solutions. 

McKivitz gave up six pressures against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2 and a further five in Week 3. However, he surrendered just one as the 49ers blew out the New England Patriots last week, and offensive line coach Chris Foerster made a point of praising McKivitz's resilience when asked about his much-maligned right tackle.

"Obviously, he had a rough outing a couple weeks ago and he bounced back, like he always has. Last week he bounced back again," Foerster told his press conference on Thursday. 

"I remember last year, I had to have a talk with him after the Pittsburgh game [McKivitz's first start at right tackle]. We talked about it last year, how we had a plan and we had to get away from that plan to help him. And so we just had to take our chances with him on [Steelers LB T.J.] Watt, and Watt got some sacks and stuff. And I had to make sure he was okay. ‘Hey, the plan was to chip every time, but they went to some different coverages. We needed guys out. And so how are you?’ 

"And that’s the point we’ve said in here before where, when guys fail, when they don’t have success, how do they bounce back? That’s the good thing about him. He has bounced back and he has had some up and down games. 

"He needs to be more consistent. But he has bounced back, and I think he has learned from last season and he’s learned to accept that wasn’t a good game and why. The whys behind it are very important for him as far as, ‘Hey, I’m doing this, this is why I’m getting beat. It’s not any major big, like I’m not good enough or the team, it’s just I’m doing this fundamental flaw that I need to fix.’”

McKivitz will likely continue to be attacked by opposing defenses as they look to expose his flaws. Finding that elusive consistency will be the challenge as he aims to hold his own and silence his critics, but ups and downs are an inherent part of any position, particularly one as difficult as tackle. Thankfully, McKivitz seems to have developed a mindset to handle them.

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