Jake Brendel remains a frequent topic of discussion among fans who believe the San Francisco 49ers could upgrade at center. While the team may explore options in the 2025 NFL Draft, a rookie replacing the veteran seems unlikely given head coach Kyle Shanahan's emphasis on experience at the position.
Shanahan remains confident in Brendel, believing the veteran played well in 2024 and will continue to do so in 2025.
"I thought Jake played well," Shanahan said this week at the NFL's annual meetings in Florida. "When you study centers throughout the league, and things like that, and you watch all these guys, I think Jake's up there when it comes to his pass protection.
"A lot of these guys get mismatched against [nose tackles] and some of the D-tackles they've got to go against. I think Jake does protection as good as anyone in this league, and I think he's always been a very good run player for us, too."
While Brendel doesn't top Pro Football Focus' rankings, his 65.0 offensive grade ranked 12th among all centers last season, while his 71.6 run-blocking grade ranked eighth.
His pass-blocking, however, showed room for improvement, earning a 55.1 grade, 20th among centers. That aspect of his game has steadily declined since his career-best 77.4 mark with the Miami Dolphins in 2018, but his run-blocking has consistently improved since bottoming out at 54.6 that same year.
It's also noteworthy that Brendel isn't too expensive. He is slated to count less than $3.8 million against the salary cap in 2025.
The 49ers signed offensive lineman Matt Hennessy in December, prompting speculation that he could one day compete for the starting center job. Hennessy previously logged 1,138 snaps at the position between 2020 and 2021. Per the analytics site, he earned a 76.4 offensive grade playing center in 2021, but struggled in pass protection.
It's more likely Hennessy competes with others, like Spencer Burford, at left guard following Aaron Banks' departure, while also providing depth at center. Shanahan's comments suggest Brendel's starting role remains secure.
"I didn't really look at it, going in, as Jake's competing," Shanahan said. "I think Jake's played at a pretty high level. I think our whole O-line has."
General manager John Lynch echoed Shanahan's confidence in Brendel but didn't rule out adding reinforcements in the draft.
"We like our right tackle. We like our center," Lynch said Monday. "Left guard, we have some candidates in-house right now. But will we look to add in the draft? Certainly."
He added, "We'll try to improve our offensive line through the draft, but there are a lot of good pieces there already."
