Last season, then-rookie offensive lineman Dominick Puni emerged as a surprising contributor for the San Francisco 49ers. Injuries along the line thrust him into the left guard role, and he started all 17 games, impressively playing all 1,078 offensive snaps in 2024.
This year, 49ers fans may have overlooked another young guard added to the roster: Connor Colby, a seventh-round draft pick. But the rookie has quickly caught attention, earning the highest offensive grade on the team (77.8)—not just among offensive linemen—from Pro Football Focus (PFF) during the preseason opener against the Denver Broncos. His 73.3 run-blocking grade was also the best on the squad.
"Saw he got a high PFF grade, so I know you guys are on top of him," head coach Kyle Shanahan joked on Thursday. "But I don't think it was too off."
Shanahan added: "He's not a secret [anymore]."
Did fans catch a glimpse of Colby's potential during his 41 offensive snaps against the Broncos? Currently, Ben Bartch is the frontrunner to start at left guard, but as Puni showed last year, situations can change quickly—and young players are often ready to surprise.
"I think he's getting better each week," Shanahan said. "When you get these guys in, at first, you try not to judge them too hard because it takes a while. But the cool thing about O-lineman is they just gradually get better each day. They kind of learn what we're asking. It's always different techniques."
Being an offensive lineman in the 49ers' system can be challenging. Players are frequently asked to do things their college coaches never required.
"You never have a guy come out of college who is going to have to run as much as we ask him to," Shanahan explained. "That always takes a number of days—sometimes a number of years—but I think he's improved a lot here in these last couple of weeks."
Colby has also won over tight end George Kittle, a fellow former Iowa Hawkeye.
"It's the first time I've had an Iowa offensive lineman on my team, so I'm really excited about that," Kittle said.
Kittle even shared his message to Colby when the rookie received first-team snaps in practice this week: "Have fun and hit somebody in the face."
At 6-foot-6 and 309 pounds, Colby isn't just showing promise as a run-blocker — he's also been a pleasant surprise in pass protection.
"You don't get to see a lot of that on Iowa tape, and just his size and stuff," Shanahan said. "He has an advantage with his size, being in front of people, and his feet and stuff have been able to do it, too. So, he's catching up in the run game, but he's had more of an advantage in the pass game, so far."
With the rookie getting noticed on the football field, Colby could be the next breakout young player for the 49ers' offensive line, following in the footsteps of Puni.