How Shanahan assesses 49ers center Brendel’s 2024 NFL season

PALM BEACH, Fla. — Jake Brendel has been maligned by part of the 49ers fan base, but Kyle Shanahan believes San Francisco's center is doing a commendable job.The 49ers coach spoke in an open session Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting and shared his thoughts on the veteran offensive lineman, who has been widely criticized by those outside of team headquarters."I thought Jake played well," Shanahan said. "When you study centers throughout the league, you watch all these guys, I think Jake is up there. When it comes to his pass protection, a lot of these guys get mismatched against, ahead of noses, so the D-tackles they have 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."Brendel's Pro Football Focus grades for the 2024 NFL season support Shanahan's claim that the 32-year old is one of the league's better interior blockers. Among centers who played at least 800 snaps, Brendel ranked 12th in the NFL with a 65.0 grade for his overall blocking.Brendel is ranked a little lower at No. 19 (55.1) in pass protection, but is slated much higher at eighth in the league in run blocking with a 71.6...