Centers are almost never (repeat "never" a few dozen times) the intended targets of a quarterback's pass.
Unintended, though? Perhaps.
That's the case for the San Francisco 49ers' Jake Brendel, who rather inadvertently caught a pass from quarterback Brock Purdy in the Niners' Week 1 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Granted, it was off a deflection, and Brendel would've been an ineligible receiver prior to Purdy's pass getting tipped.
But, according to the stat sheet, Brendel has a reception this season—his first (and probably last) of his NFL career.
The story could end here, of course. It'd be an anomaly that might make its way onto some San Francisco trivia quiz years from now. And nothing more would be said of it.
Except, now looking at two weeks in the books on the 2026 season, Brendel actually has just as many catches on the year as some other well-known household names.
And those names should be far beyond Brendel on the catch list by this point.
3 well-known NFL pass catchers have just as many receptions as Jake Brendel
As far as the 49ers go, three players—wide receivers Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel, along with running back Christian McCaffrey—lead the pack with nine grabs through two weeks.
Combing through the rest of the league, however, there are a few names who surprisingly are tied with Brendel on the reception list:
- TE Kyle Pitts (Atlanta Falcons)
- WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (Arizona Cardinals)
- WR/CB Travis Hunter (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Imagine having the same amount of catches as Jake Brendel 💀 pic.twitter.com/KPZbizGSYF
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) September 22, 2026
Correct, Pitts, Harrison and Hunter each have just one catch on the year through two weeks. That's awfully surprising, considering none of them have been inactive for any portion of the still-young season.
Understandably, Atlanta has had an abysmal start to the year. Despite his recent contract extension, one that figured to make him an integral part of the Falcons offense, Pitts has just four targets amid being part of the league's worst offense over the two-week span.
Hunter, meanwhile, has seen just 10 offensive snaps. One could argue he should just stick to being a defensive back instead of a two-way player, and the offensive/defensive snap counts seem to point in that direction.
Harrison, sadly, seems to be trending quickly toward "massive bust" status after Arizona drafted him fourth overall back in 2024. He, too, has just four targets on the year and seems to be less than a tertiary target for Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
As for Brendel, he can wait and see if his reception totals this season still match these three names for another week or two. If so, that's ironically hilarious.
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