All 49ers

Ben Bartch Could Start at Center for the 49ers in 2024

The two most likely players to start at center for the 49ers in 2024 are Jake Brendel and Jon Feliciano, but they're both old and injured.
Grant Cohn|
Oct 1, 2023; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Ben Bartch (78) reacts after an NFL International Series game against the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2023; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Ben Bartch (78) reacts after an NFL International Series game against the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports | Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The two most likely players to start at center for the 49ers in 2024 are Jake Brendel and Jon Feliciano, but they're both old and injured.

That's why Ben Bartch was the 49ers' starting center in OTAs and minicamp. Brendel, 31, was out with knee tendinitis. And Feliciano, 32, was out with an undisclosed injury. That left Bartch, a former fourth-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars who's only 25.

The 49ers signed Bartch of the Jaguars practice squad last year. He started 20 games in Jacksonville, mostly at guard, but injuries cost him playing time. Now he's healthy, and the 49ers like him at center. He's their new project.

Brendel, their current starting center, originally was on the Miami Dolphins practice squad -- that's how current 49ers offensive line coach Chris Foerster discovered him. Over years, Foerster helped Brendel develop into a starting-caliber center. Foerster could be doing that again with Bartch.

Bartch clearly has talent -- that's why he was a fourth-round draft pick, as opposed to Brendel who was undrafted. Bartch is 6'6" and 315 lbs, which means he's quite large for a center. But he was snapping the ball consistently and moving well during OTAs and minicamp.

If Brendel and Feliciano continue to break down and miss time during training, the 49ers could decide to go with Bartch at center to maintain continuity. The 49ers don't like making constant changes to their offensive line. If Bartch solidifies himself as a dependable every-day option at center this summer, he just might keep the job.

Published | Modified
Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

Share on XFollow grantcohn
Home/News