Priority spots have been assigned to the 49ers for the 2024 season. The 49ers core that keeps making deep playoff runs is back, including Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Fred Warner, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Nick Bosa, and Trent Williams. Since Jon Feliciano assumed the position of right guard, the offensive line has outperformed the sum of its parts. On a one-year contract, Feliciano returned, and his presence sparks interesting discussions about the line as a whole and possible player lineups.

For the past two seasons, Jake Brendel has been the team’s starting centre. Is there a scenario in which Dominick Puni joins Brendel and Feliciano takes over at the centre? As a centre, Brendel played 2,400 offensive snaps. In addition to 36 rushes and 47 pressures, he gave up three sacks and eight QB hits. Brendel’s 2023 pass-blocking score of 45.3 marked the lowest point in the PFF rankings. In his first season starting at centre for the New York Giants in 2022, Feliciano finished with a 66.5 pass-blocking grade despite giving up four sacks, three QB hits, eighteen hurries, and twenty-two pressures on 1,095 snaps.

NFL Network’s Gregg Rosenthal shared his preliminary analysis of each NFC West team’s depth chart. According to Rosenthal, the 49ers offence is unchanged from the previous campaign, with the return of the offensive line and every skill position player from the team.

The defensive end is where the surprise lies. According to Rosenthal, Deommodore Lenoir starts at nickel for the 49ers, with Isaac Yiadom starting at outside corner. Although Renardo Green’s draft selection merely increases the secondary’s depth, Rosenthal thinks Yiadom’s performance in New Orleans was not an anomaly.

The 49ers have the key positions covered, but before training camp begins, some thought-provoking conversations may take place. How are Talanoa Hufanga’s progress and state of health? Is Puni able to start as Spencer Burford did in his debut season? Will the 49ers continue to use Lenoir in the starting lineup?