49ers training camp: What we learned with Week 1 in the books

What we learned from 49ers training camp: Daniel Brunskill slides inside, while a rookie takes his place

Further to the offensive line issues, one hole that opened up on the line was at the center position with the retirement of Alex Mack.

Jake Brendel, a journeyman who hasn’t had sustained play in his career with only three starts thus far, was given the first crack at the role.

Unfortunately, this didn’t last very long. The 49ers didn’t have much faith in him, given they had Daniel Brunskill take center reps as a backup, and the subpar blocking that occurred early in training camp meant he took over as a starter on Day 4.

Brunskill has started at center in the past for the Niners, and while he isn’t anything special, he’s good enough to be a stopgap measure at least, and whether or not the team decides to add a veteran to compete for the job or not, however, is another matter.

But putting Brunskill at center means San Francisco must replace not one, but two guards from last season. Aaron Banks has been penciled in as the starter at left guard, and he’s been decent if not spectacular there, but the real wild-card is rookie Spencer Burford, who’s taken over first-team reps at right guard.

It’s too early to see if Burford will be a starter in Week 1, but of all the rookies, he’s the one who definitely garners the most attention from fans right now.