The 49ers offensive line will be…interesting…tonight
The San Francisco 49ers host the Detroit Lions tonight in their final home game of the 2024 season. Brock Purdy will start to the chagrin of most fans, and for good reason. Here are the five players blocking for the Niners quarterback:
LT Charlie Heck
LG Nick Zakelj
C Jake Brendel
RG Dominick Puni
RT Colton McKivitz
Zakelj makes his first start in his brief career. The 6th-round pick from the 2022 NFL Draft has only played 21 snaps this season. So, this will be a good opportunity for the third-year player from Fordham to put film on tape and show the coaching staff what he’s made of in a game-like setting.
Brendel has gotten a bad wrap, but he hasn’t been nearly as bad as some fans would lead you to believe. That doesn’t mean he’s flawless by any means. But just because a player misses a block or two does not render him useless.