The San Francisco 49ers likely didn't anticipate Dominick Puni becoming such a vital piece of their offensive line during his rookie 2024 campaign—at least not as quickly as it happened. But injuries forced the third-round pick into the starting lineup, and Puni rose to the challenge, playing 100% of the team's 1,078 offensive snaps.
As it turns out, the 49ers may have uncovered a top-10 guard in Puni. That's how Pro Football Focus (PFF) sees it, based on the offensive lineman's impressive debut season. He ranked No. 10 on their list of the top 32 guards.
"The third-round pick in 2024 hit the ground running in his rookie campaign, setting up what should be a highly productive career," wrote PFF analyst Mason Cameron.
"Puni posted the fifth-highest PFF overall grade (80.5) among qualifying guards. He stands out as a road-grading interior run blocker, with his 18.5% positively graded play rate on runs ranking fifth out of 77 guards."
He also finished as the highest-graded rookie offensive lineman, with an 81.5 run-blocking grade that led all first-year players at the position. While he surrendered 35 pressures and three sacks on the year, all three sacks came after Week 12.
Puni's performance dipped late in the season. He earned a pass-blocking grade below 65.9 in three of his final four games, including a season-low 44.7 in Week 15 against the Los Angeles Rams, when he allowed two sacks.
That late-season slump may have been the result of rookie fatigue, with Puni adjusting to the demands of his first full 17-game NFL season. With that experience now under his belt, there's good reason to believe he could take a significant leap forward in 2025.