San Francisco 49ers get two solutions for the price of one with third-round pick of Dominick Puni
After deciding against taking a tackle in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers traded up in the third round to address a position widely viewed as their biggest need. San Francisco moved up eight spots in a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles to take Kansas tackle Dominick Puni 86th […]
After deciding against taking a tackle in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers traded up in the third round to address a position widely viewed as their biggest need.
San Francisco moved up eight spots in a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles to take Kansas tackle Dominick Puni 86th overall.
In addition to the 94th pick, the 49ers sent one of their three fourth-rounders (132nd overall) to the Eagles.
That gave the 49ers the opportunity to select a prospect with the potential to be a solution at two spots.
Puni played 848 snaps at left guard in 2022 before playing 728 snaps at left tackle in his final season with the Jayhawks.
In his pre-draft press conference, general manager John Lynch spoke about the value of versatility on the offensive line .
"The interesting thing with those linemen in this draft, we think a lot of them have flexibility to be tackles and or guards," said Lynch. "So that’s nice that you take somebody with some versatility."
Still, Puni's best chance to start as a rookie will likely come at a position he did not play in college. The potential openings are at the right tackle and right guard spots, with that side of the line one of the key reasons why the 49ers lost Super Bowl 58. Jon Feliciano is penciled in as the starter at right guard while Colton McKivitz is the right tackle.
Whether Puni can compete with either as a rookie remains to be seen but, at a little over 6ft 5in and 313 pounds and with the explosive athletic ability to get out in space with little difficulty, he fits exactly what the Niners look for on the offensive line.
Per Pro Football Focus, Puni did not allow a sack or quarterback in 342 pass blocking snaps in 2023. He gave up only eight pressures.
He certainly shouldn't expect to excel to such a degree in protection in the NFL but, between his pass-blocking acumen, his athleticism in space and his versatility, Puni has the tools to blossom into a starter on the O-Line for San Francisco.
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