Ranking the Most Important 49ers in 2025: No. 20 Anchors the Offense

Jake Brendel is locked in as a starter for the San Francisco 49ers for the fourth straight season, barring something significant and out of the ordinary happening. Brendel has been the definition of serviceable for the 49ers, which is why he checks in as the 20th most important 49ers player. 

Ranking the most important 49ers in 2025: No. 20 Jake Brendel

On the surface, this is probably too low. He is the starting center for a team that leans heavily on the zone run and that asks the center to do a lot. The team also does not necessarily have a plan behind him. 

However, nothing about his two years as a starter with the 49ers have been spectacular, and his ascension from a journeyman in the NFL to a serviceable starter may speak more to what a Kyle Shanahan scheme can do to any competent center who is willing to run it right. 

The 49ers do not have a competent backup behind, but at the same time Nick Zakelj has taken center snaps in the preseason, Matt Hennessy is a former third round pick with a couple of years of center experience under his belt, and while Drake Nugent was a UDFA last season, he did stick around the practice squad and has a chance to ascend into a backup center this season. 

If Brendel went down and the team had to turn to any of these options, would it be viewed as a significant downgrade or something that San Francisco could not recover from?

Brendel has over 3,500 snaps at center for the 49ers over the past few years, and he is obviously inside the top 22, but he cannot end up much higher on the ranking for 2025.