The San Francisco 49ers could be on the brink of a lineup change

This is overdue.

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During an early part of the San Francisco 49ers' win over the Atlanta Falcons, the team pulled their starting left guard, Connor Colby, in favor of Nick Zakelj.

It was only a four-snap span, and it was inconsequential to the outcome, so there was not much to take away from it. However, it could signal that the team is close to making a change to the starting lineup. 

Did San Francisco 49ers try to bench Connor Colby for Nick Zakelj?

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Zakelj came in, but left when the team also lost their starting center, Jake Brendel. Matt Henessy jumped into the lineup, but because Zakelj was the third-string center, the 49ers did not feel comfortable having him play. If Hennessy and Zakelj both got banged up, the team would have no one to snap the football. 

Zakelj confirmed this was the reasoning for the switch, which does not speak well of Colby. 

Nick Zakelj confirmed the guess made in today's mailbag: He left Sunday's game after Jake Brendel got injured because the team didn't want its remaining centers -- Matt Hennessy and Zakelj -- playing at the same time and risking injury. https://t.co/6PkIdthTEW

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) October 22, 2025

Colby is a rookie seventh-round pick, and he has played like it so far this season. He has been fine as a run blocker, but he is a disaster as a pass blocker. On obvious pass downs, the Atlanta Falcons would align linebacker Kaden Elliss over Colby, and the speedy linebacker was too quick and savvy for the rookie, who gave up a couple of quick pressures. Considering it has been going on for a few games, this was enough for San Francisco to make the move. 

However, with the injury at the center, they could not stick with it. The question is whether or not they will continue this now that they have a chance to prepare at center. The 49ers have Drake Nugent on the practice squad. 

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He could not get called up in the game, but he has three elevations and one could be used this weekend. The 49ers can call him up and dress a backup center. This would allow them to start Zakelj. They appear to think that may be an upgrade at right guard.

If the 49ers do not call up Nugent this week, you have to wonder the point of keeping him on the practice squad for this long. This scenario is what he is here for. The team could upgrade left guard at a time when they have a backup center, and at least buy another week until Ben Bartch can return to the lineup. 

If Colby starts, it will be interesting to know if that is because he played well last week enough last week, if they planned to just rotate in Zakelj, or if they still view his role as a backup center valuable enough.