In the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected Dominick Puni from the University of Kansas with the 86th-overall pick.
"I want to come and make an instant impact," Puni said after being drafted. "I'm going to make sure they know they chose the right pick and that I was the right decision."
Keep reading to learn more about San Francisco's newest offensive lineman.
Originally from St. Charles, Missouri, Puni grew up in a house full of athletes.
His parents, Teu and Jessica, both played college sports at Truman State University. His dad played football and his mother played volleyball. Puni's brothers, Derrick and Devin, played college football at Central Missouri and his sister, Brianna, was a college basketball player at Illinois State.
Puni also is cousins with Buffalo Bills defensive lineman A.J. Epenesa, who played collegiately at lowa and was a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Puni has appeared in 42 games (38 starts) across six seasons playing at Central Missouri (2018-21) and Kansas (2022-23).
In 2019, Puni started in 13 games for Central Missouri and earned an All-MIAA honorable mention. Following his transfer to Kansas, the offensive lineman was named an All-Big 12 honorable mention as a redshirt junior in 2022 and earned AP First-Team All-Big 12 honors as a redshirt senior in 2023. Throughout his entire time playing at Kansas, Puni did not allow a single sack.
Leading into the 2024 NFL Draft, Puni made the Pro Football Focus list of the top-ranked offensive tackles on gap-scheme run concepts in this year's class, landing at No. 6.
Puni has recorded a 90.4 pass block grade, a 72.3 run block grade and a 80.6 overall grade from the 2023 season. PFF wrote that Puni is a "massive player who is tough to get around from size alone," and "has the power to displace people when he gets them between the shoulders."
At the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, Puni ran the 40-yard dash in 5.35 seconds, along with a 30-inch vertical jump and a broad jump of 8 feet, 11 inches.
In Puni's combine report, NFL analyst Lance Zierlein shared that the offensive lineman "plays with excellent feel for arm extension and maintains his feel for pass rushers."
To be drafted by the 49ers was Puni's "dream come true."
"The first thing that went through my head (when receiving the draft call) was 'hell yeah'," Puni said in a 1-on-1 interview with 49ers team reporter Lindsey Pallares. "I wanted to go to the 49ers. That was my team I wanted to go to, I was super excited... The history of the 49ers is legendary. Obviously, right now, the roster – the team and the staff – it's all amazing."
