One of the biggest perceptions of the San Francisco 49ers entering the 2025 offseason was they absolutely needed to upgrade the offensive line, particularly at right tackle over Colton McKivitz and at center with Jake Brendel.
Well, the Niners opted to do neither.
Aside from a handful of transactions involving backups and reserves, San Francisco effectively gave a vote of full confidence, particularly with Brendel, who has often been viewed as the proverbial “weakest link” on a relatively “weak” O-line aside from All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams.
Brendel is staying put, though. Combined with the fact the 49ers did almost nothing to guarantee him serious competition this offseason in training camp attests to that.
But, is it the right move?
49ers trust in Jake Brendel more than you do
It’s hard to quantify offensive linemen like other positions. So, looking at a 65.0 overall grade from Pro Football Focus (23rd out of 64 qualifying centers) suggests the Niners boast a below-average option here.
PFF also slapped him with one sack and three quarterback hits allowed in 2024. But, without knowing the full protections, precise play called and so on, it’s hard to put much more stock in PFF’s analysis.
In short, watch the tape — a luxury we don’t exactly have this particular moment.
That doesn’t matter much, though, because the Niners remain committed to the 33 year old through 2026, although things could get a bit dicey from this point onward since there’s no more guaranteed money remaining on his current deal, and he has no $500,000 roster bonus for 2026, according to Over the Cap.
This points to the possibility of Brendel playing his last season in San Francisco, although the succession plan is hard to figure out.
Currently, at least on unofficial depth charts, former Atlanta Falcons reserve lineman Matt Hennessy is listed as the No. 2 after being picked up off Atlanta’s practice squad in December of last year. Then, there’s the undrafted free agent from 2024, Drake Nugent, who spent essentially all his rookie season on the practice squad.
Not exactly a long list of plausible options.
Of course, Brendel proverbially came out of nowhere, too, to claim the starting gig in 2022 after having been in the league since 2016 and bouncing around as a journeyman reservist and practice squad player.
Perhaps that’s what the 49ers envision with Brendel’s eventual replacement. But, whoever that is, it’s pretty clear there’s no long-term plan in place.
