The San Francisco 49ers haven’t had many bright spots during a 6-10 campaign that will prompt them to miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2020 season.
But, if they were to pinpoint a few, the emergence of rookie third-round pick Dominick Puni into a capable starter would be near the top of the list.
A six-year player at Kansas, Puni played offensive tackle in college, but moved in during his offseason and was given a major opportunity to play with the starters when initial starter Spencer Burford broke his right arm early in training camp.
From there, Puni took the No. 1 reps at right guard, never sharing that role and instead developing into one of San Francisco’s top players along the offensive line.
Looking ahead to the 2025 season, San Francisco could have some questions along the offensive line, specifically in regards to their interior at center and left guard, given the inconsistent play of Jake Brendel and Aaron Banks.
With potential shifting coming next season, could Puni move to another position to fill a need this offseason?
“We always saw him as a guard,” offensive line coach Chris Foerster acknowledged on Thursday. “When we drafted him, we kind of thought he’d be a guard. We started him over at the right side because we felt where Aaron [Banks] was and we talked at times, but then when Spencer [Burford] got hurt and he took over the right guard spot during training camp, he just excelled. And so I don’t see him moving.
“There’d be no reason to move the guy. I’ve always had him in the back of my mind as potentially, a fourth tackle. But I don’t think that’s his best position. I do think guard is, and he’s proven that. He’s done a nice job there through the year. I just said it’s been the longest year of his life. And I might have said it before, but I’ll repeat myself because I’m old and I get that luxury.”
It’s been a long year for Puni, who went straight from the college season to draft prep to a full offseason with the 49ers before starting every game as a rookie. Still, he’s managed to keep up a quality level of play, which has been impressive from the third-rounder.
“When you think about his season, it started his senior year of college,” Foerster continued. “Whatever he did leading up to that, whatever they do in college, all their summer workouts. So whatever that was a year ago, July. Then as soon as his season’s over, Draft prep and the Combine, then the Draft, then Rookie Mini Camp, then the 17-game season.
“And here he is, 18 months after he started his senior season at Kansas without really a break. The little bit of break in July that we get but for the rookies, it’s not much. So he legitimately has hit a wall and not a bad wall from a standpoint of he’s been playing terribly, but it was really hard to stay focused and he did it, which is why so many rookies don’t start every game.”
The 49ers could look for an upgrade over Jake Brendel after another season of inconsistent play. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has usually preferred a veteran at the center position, given the position’s responsibilities in his offense, so there was some speculation that Puni could potentially even move to center.
But, it seems like he’s found his calling card position and will be sticking with it moving forward.
