The San Francisco 49ers had a fascinating 2024 NFL Draft, selecting eight players, beginning with Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall in Round 1 and concluding with Purdue safety Sanoussi Kane. Additionally, the 49ers signed eight undrafted free agents after the draft, with Michigan center Drake Nugent being the most likely to make the team’s final 2024 53-man roster.
Why 49ers undrafted free agent Drake Nugent will make the 2024 roster
The 49ers’ wide receiver situation has received a lot of attention this offseason, with speculation that the team may trade Brandon Aiyuk to avoid paying him or trade Deebo Samuel to make room on the balance sheet for the 2020 first-round pick. With Kyle Shanahan running the offense, it’s no surprise that the skill position players get most of the attention. However, the state of the offensive line has also been discussed.
According to PFF’s final grades for 2023, the 49ers’ offensive line finished 21st in the league. Last year, left tackle Trent Williams was the second-highest-graded tackle in the NFL (after Detroit Lions Penei Sewell), while right guard Jon Feliciano was seventh at his position with 79.8. But the rest of the line was quite tough.
Williams’ opposite tackle, Colton McKivitz, ranked 47th in the league with a 65.2 grade, while platooning left guards Aaron Banks and Spencer Burford were 60th (52.8) and 64th (50.3), respectively. Center Jake Brendel finished 16th (66.3).
In addition to the underperforming supporting cast, Shanahan and the 49ers must deal with the fact that Feliciano is 32, Brendel is 31, and Williams will turn 36 in July.
The 49ers took attempts to address these weaknesses in the 2024 NFL Draft, selecting Kansas OL Dominick Puni in Round 3 and USC OL Jarrett Kingston in Round 6. Puni started at LT, RT, and LG in college, whereas Kingston started at all four non-center spots.
Puni and Kingston are good picks to help with the 49ers’ offensive line problems, and both should make the roster, with Puni competing for a starting place, most likely at left guard.
All of this leaves center depth as the major question mark, which the 49ers attempted to address with undrafted free agent Drake Nugent.
Nugent has started 39 games at center for Stanford and Michigan in the last three seasons. He was a Cardinal team captain, and during his one season with the Wolverines, the team won a national championship, and he was named a Rimington Trophy finalist as well as first-team All-Big Ten Conference.
Nugent, who is just over 6-foot-1, weighs 298 pounds, and has 33-inch arms, lacks the ideal size and arm length that the NFL seeks in top prospects.
However, Nugent does have a number of advantages.
He was a championship-level shot putter in high school, so he has great strength. He is also intelligent and technically proficient in the center position. This season, he anchors one of the strongest offensive lines in college football history and is a team captain. Plus, his father was a standout quarterback at Colorado State before making his NFL debut with the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts in the 1980s.
Drake Nugent may not be ready to start the season, but he should make the 49ers’ roster as Jake Brendel’s backup center. And whether Brenedel is just average again this season and Nugent gets a shot, or if he sits out the entire season, Nugent could be the team’s starting center in 2025 when Brendel approaches his mid-30s.
Overall, Shanahan and the 49ers made a wise decision in the undrafted free-agent market, which might pay dividends as early as this season.
