49ers Center Overview: Jake Brendel Leads Unremarkable Group

The San Francisco 49ers did not make any notable changes to the center depth chart from last year, showing that they are hoping stability goes a long way.  

Jake Brendel 

Brendel has started for the 49ers for the past three years and will make it year four as long as nothing out of the ordinary happens this summer. Brendel could be defined as serviceable, and he is a fit for Kyle Shanahan, which is important, but the position could be upgraded. However, they did not make any additions, and it is hard to see the names below pushing him.

Matt Hennessy 

The 49ers signed Hennessy off the Falcons' practice squad last season. The team may elect to play Nick Zakelj as the backup center if Brendel goes down, but Hennessy does have 1,150 career snaps at center and was a former third-round pick back in 2020.  He could easily show up and show the team that he should be the backup.

Drake Nugent 

Nugent was a UDFA last season. The former Michigan product took 91 snaps at center for the 49ers last pre-season, and he showed enough to stick around and compete for the backup job in his second NFL season.  Without a strong contender to win the job, he is going to be a name to watch this summer.

Zack Johnson 

Zack Johnson was a UDFA in 2020 who has bounced around the NFL. He only has four NFL snaps, and that was back in 2022. However, he took 114 snaps at center for the Browns last preseason, so he will likely slot in here this summer.